To increase understanding of the genomic landscape of acral melanoma, a rare form of melanoma occurring on palms, soles or nail beds, whole genome sequencing of 87 tumors with matching transcriptome sequencing for 63 tumors was performed.,Here we report that mutational signature analysis reveals a subset of tumors, mostly subungual, with an ultraviolet radiation signature.,Significantly mutated genes are BRAF, NRAS, NF1, NOTCH2, PTEN and TYRP1.,Mutations and amplification of KIT are also common.,Structural rearrangement and copy number signatures show that whole genome duplication, aneuploidy and complex rearrangements are common.,Complex rearrangements occur recurrently and are associated with amplification of TERT, CDK4, MDM2, CCND1, PAK1 and GAB2, indicating potential therapeutic options.,Acral melanoma occurs on the soles of the feet, palms of the hands and in nail beds.,Here, the authors reports the genomic landscape of 87 acral melanomas and find that some tumors harbor a UV signature and that the tumors are diverse at the levels of mutational signatures, structural aberrations and copy number signatures.
YAP and its paralog protein TAZ are downstream effectors of the Hippo pathway.,Both are amplified in many human cancers and promote cell proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.,Little is known about the status of the Hippo pathway in cutaneous melanoma.,We profiled Hippo pathway component expression in a panel of human melanoma cell lines and melanocytic lesions, and characterized the capacity of YAP and TAZ to control melanoma cell behavior.,YAP and TAZ immuno-staining in human samples revealed mixed cytoplasmic and nuclear staining for both proteins in benign nevi and superficial spreading melanoma.,TAZ was expressed at higher levels than YAP1/2 in all cell lines and in those with high invasive potential.,Stable YAP or TAZ knockdown dramatically reduced the expression of the classical Hippo target CCN2/connective-tissue growth factor (CTGF), as well as anchorage-independent growth, capacity to invade Matrigel, and ability form lung metastases in mice following tail-vein injection.,YAP knockdown also reduced invasion in a model of skin reconstruct.,Inversely, YAP overexpression increased melanoma cell invasiveness, associated with increased TEA domain-dependent transcription and CCN2/CTGF expression.,Together, these results demonstrate that both YAP and TAZ contribute to the invasive and metastatic capacity of melanoma cells and may represent worthy targets for therapeutic intervention.