PLX078151

GSE71890: The Polycomb protein BMI1 induces an invasive gene expression signature in melanoma that promotes metastasis and chemoresistance.

• Organsim human
• Type RNASEQ
• Target gene
• Project ARCHS4

The epigenetic regulator BMI1 is upregulated in many human malignancies and has been implicated in cell migration, but the impact on autochthonous tumor progression is unexplored. Our analyses of human expression data show that BMI1 levels increase with progression in melanoma. We find that BMI1 expression in melanoma cells does not influence cell proliferation or primary tumor growth. In contrast, BMI1 levels are a key determinant of melanoma metastasis, whereby deletion impairs and overexpression enhances dissemination. Remarkably, BMI1s pro-metastatic effect reflects enhancement of all stages of the metastatic cascade including invasion, migration, extravasation, adhesion and survival. Additionally, downregulation or upregulation of BMI1 induces sensitivity or resistance to BRAF inhibitor. Consistent with these pleiotropic effects, we find that BMI1 promotes widespread gene expression changes that encompass key hallmarks of the melanoma invasive signature, including activation of TGF, non-canonical Wnt, EMT and EGF/PDGF pathways. Importantly, for both primary and metastatic melanoma samples, this BMI1-induced signature identifies invasive subclasses of human melanoma and predicts poor patient outcome. Our data yield key insights into melanoma biology and establish BMI1 as a compelling drug target whose inhibition would suppress both metastasis and chemoresistance. SOURCE: A Bhutkar MIT