Abstract B30: The histone demethylase PHF8 epigenetically regulates the TGFbeta pathway to promote melanoma metastasis

The specific contribution of epigenetic dysregulation to the metastatic process remains understudied. Through a meta-analysis of gene expression datasets followed by a functional mini-screen, we identified PHF8, a histone demethylase of the Jumonji C proteins family, as a novel prometastatic factor in melanoma. Loss- and gain-of-function approaches demonstrate that PHF8 promotes cell invasion without affecting proliferation in vitro, and increases dissemination but not tumor growth in vivo, thus strengthening its specific contribution to the acquisition of metastatic potential. PHF8 demethylase activity is required for its proinvasive role. Transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses revealed that PHF8 orchestrates molecular changes that directly control the TGFβ signaling pathway and, as a direct consequence, melanoma invasion. Citation Format: Rana Moubarak, Ana De Pablos-Aragoneses, Vanessa Ortiz-Barahona, Richard Von Itter, Yixiao Gong, Michael Gowen, Sebastian Stefan, Diana Argibay, Eleazar De Miera-Vega, Igor Dolgalev, Elena Sokolova, Farbod Darvishian, Aristotelis Tsirigos, Iman Osman, Eva Hernando. The histone demethylase PHF8 epigenetically regulates the TGFbeta pathway to promote melanoma metastasis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Melanoma: From Biology to Target; 2019 Jan 15-18; Houston, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(19 Suppl):Abstract nr B30.