Transposon mutagenesis identifies genetic drivers of Braf(V600E) melanoma

Nat Genet. 2015 May;47(5):486-95. doi: 10.1038/ng.3275. Epub 2015 Apr 13.

Abstract

Although nearly half of human melanomas harbor oncogenic BRAF(V600E) mutations, the genetic events that cooperate with these mutations to drive melanogenesis are still largely unknown. Here we show that Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon-mediated mutagenesis drives melanoma progression in Braf(V600E) mutant mice and identify 1,232 recurrently mutated candidate cancer genes (CCGs) from 70 SB-driven melanomas. CCGs are enriched in Wnt, PI3K, MAPK and netrin signaling pathway components and are more highly connected to one another than predicted by chance, indicating that SB targets cooperative genetic networks in melanoma. Human orthologs of >500 CCGs are enriched for mutations in human melanoma or showed statistically significant clinical associations between RNA abundance and survival of patients with metastatic melanoma. We also functionally validate CEP350 as a new tumor-suppressor gene in human melanoma. SB mutagenesis has thus helped to catalog the cooperative molecular mechanisms driving BRAF(V600E) melanoma and discover new genes with potential clinical importance in human melanoma.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • DNA Transposable Elements / genetics*
  • Exome
  • Female
  • Gene Frequency
  • Gene Regulatory Networks
  • Genes, Tumor Suppressor
  • Genetic Association Studies
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Melanoma / genetics*
  • Melanoma / secondary
  • Mice, 129 Strain
  • Mice, Inbred C3H
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Inbred NOD
  • Mice, SCID
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Microtubule Proteins / genetics*
  • Mutagenesis
  • Mutation, Missense
  • Neoplasm Transplantation
  • Nuclear Proteins / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / genetics*
  • Skin Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Skin Neoplasms / pathology

Substances

  • CEP350 protein, human
  • DNA Transposable Elements
  • Microtubule Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • BRAF protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf

Associated data

  • BioProject/PRJNA276299