Abstract 6247: Comprehensive characterization of cancers with epithelial mesenchymal transition phenotype through long-read sequencing
Authors: Tanaka Yosuke , Mano Hiroyuki 
Published: March 2024

Introduction: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and linitis-plastica type gastric cancer (STAD) are the most representative refractory cancers even in the era of molecularly targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Extensive characterization of these tumors, especially regarding the genomic and epigenomic characteristics of pure cancer cells, has been hampered by the high stromal content in the primary tumor samples. Here we took advantage of cancer cells purified from malignant ascites and established corresponding cell lines to overcome the limitations associated with the analysis and to discover their vulnerabilities.

Methods: We developed cell lines from malignant ascitic fluid samples obtained from 60 patients with PDAC and 59 patients with linitis-plastica type STAD. We performed comprehensive multi-omic analyses of these cell lines using long-read whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for complex somatic genomic alterations and for methylation aberration. We also conducted long-read RNA sequencing (iso-seq) for full-length isoform exploration, and chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with sequencing (ChIP-seq) for enhancer analysis. Complementary short-read whole-genome sequencing and RNA sequencing were also performed.

Results: Comprehensive transcriptome analyses identified a cluster with high epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) characteristics, consisting of the majority of the PDAC cell lines and a half of the STAD cell lines. ChIP-seq analysis against H3K27ac revealed the distinct transcriptional circuit that generated EMT cluster-specific super-enhancers governed by SMAD3, independent of cancer type. Most of the transcriptional activity was controlled by the gene methylation. We also identified the differential expression levels of the splicing factors between the EMT-activated and the non-activated groups. Comprehensive isoform analysis by iso-seq revealed that the isoform usage was completely different between the EMT group and the other, especially in genes of the actomyosin pathway which confer characteristic features of the EMT cluster in the cell morphology and cell motility. Using the CHM13 reference genome, long-read WGS analyses revealed the recurrent structural alterations specific to the EMT group such as those involving CDKN2A. We also identified PDAC-specific structural alterations.

Conclusion: We identified the distinct molecular characteristics of the EMT-activated group in PDAC and linitis-plastica type STAD which may confer the therapeutic resistance. Our findings provide an interesting insight for the further innovation of the treatment strategy for these intractable cancers.

Citation Format: Yosuke Tanaka, Hiroyuki Mano. Comprehensive characterization of cancers with epithelial mesenchymal transition phenotype through long-read sequencing [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 6247.