Abstract B001: Intra- and inter-tumoral heterogeneity of melanoma across different metastatic sites
Authors: Aedo Lopez Veronica L. , Saleh Reem , Blyth Benjamin , Du Xin , Vassiliadis Dane , Fennell Katie , Moi Davide , Mazzieri Roberta , Dolcetti Riccardo , Sheppard Karen E. , McArthur Grant A. 
Published: November 2024

Melanoma, a highly metastatic skin cancer, exhibits variations in prognosis and response to therapy based on the site of metastasis. Despite the success of immunotherapy and targeted therapies in melanoma, over half of metastatic melanoma patients will experience disease progression due to therapy resistance. The heterogeneity and plasticity of melanoma cells contribute to metastatic dissemination and therapy resistance. Our aim is to determine whether distinct clones and/or their transcriptional cell states can predict the formation of tumors in various organs and assess how these clones change over time. To identify melanoma clones across different metastatic sites, NOD scid gamma (NSG) mice and C57BL/6 mice were injected subcutaneously, intravenously or intracranially with the same pool of cells of barcoded luciferase expressing YUMMER1.7 murine melanoma cells. Transduction conditions ensured that one DNA barcode integrated into cell genomes at one barcode per cell, serving as a lineage tag. Bioluminescence imaging was performed once a week to monitor tumor growth of mice injected intravenously and intracranially. Subcutaneous tumors were measured by calliper. Mice were euthanized at different time points; day 8, 15, 22, 29 post-implantation and at ethical endpoints. Tumors were harvested and DNA sequencing was performed to identify barcodes expressed by the tumor cells. All mice developed tumors, with 100% penetrance in NSG mice. However, in C57BL/6 mice, 10% of mice intravenously injected and 27% of subcutaneously implanted mice showed complete lesion regression, suggesting that the immune system may be responsible for tumor regression. Analysis of barcodes allowed us to assess the heterogeneity of melanoma tumors at different metastatic sites and their evolution over time. Lineage tracing and clonal heterogeneity will be evaluated using the state of art technology, SPLINTR (Single-cell Profiling and LINeage Tracing), enabling us to match a cells evolution with changes in transcriptional states. Barcode analysis performed before implanting the cells and, at different timepoints in subcutaneous and lung tumors showed that dominant subclones at the baseline were also dominant in subcutaneous and lung tumors in immunocompromised mice. In contrast, dominant subclones in immunocompetent mice was those present in lower proportion at baseline. Additionally, greater variability of subclones was observed especially in lung and brain tumors, across immunocompetent mice, likely as a mechanism of resistance, enabling these tumors to overcome immunoediting. Understanding the variability of clonality between different metastatic sites and over time will improve our comprehension of the role of different subclones in organ- specific metastasis and their transcriptional cell states.

Citation Format: Veronica L. Aedo Lopez, Reem Saleh, Benjamin Blyth, Xin Du, Dane Vassiliadis, Katie Fennell, Davide Moi, Roberta Mazzieri, Riccardo Dolcetti, Karen E. Sheppard, Grant A. McArthur. Intra- and inter-tumoral heterogeneity of melanoma across different metastatic sites [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Tumor-body Interactions: The Roles of Micro- and Macroenvironment in Cancer; 2024 Nov 17-20; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(22_Suppl):Abstract nr B001.