PHIP as a Biomarker of Triple-Negative Melanoma

描述（由申请人提供）：在我们实验室进行的最新研究已经确定了普列克底物蛋白同源结构域相互作用蛋白（PHIP）基因作为黑色素瘤进展的标志物和介体的新作用。PHIP水平升高是黑色素瘤生存的独立预测因子。PHIP在三阴性黑色素瘤（携带野生型BRAF、NRAS和PTEN）中被激活，从而有助于表征黑色素瘤的这种知之甚少的分子子集。此外，shRNA介导的PHIP下调显著抑制了鼠和人黑色素瘤的侵袭性和转移潜力，包括在三阴性黑色素瘤细胞系中。在本提案中，我们计划确认PHIP作为黑色素瘤生物标志物所发挥的重要作用及其作为黑色素瘤进展介导剂的作用。我们的具体目标是：（1）验证PHIP在黑色素瘤中的预后作用。我们将评估PHIP在一个不同人群中的250例原发性黑色素瘤患者中的预后作用。我们将使用免疫组织化学分析和荧光原位杂交来确定PHIP水平，并将PHIP水平与生存率相关联。我们还将评估200例转移性黑色素瘤患者的PHIP水平。这一目标将验证PHIP在黑色素瘤中的预后影响，并确定其作为黑色素瘤进展标志物的作用。(2)评估PHIP在黑色素瘤分子分型中的作用。我们将检查450例有记录的PHIP水平的黑色素瘤中最常见的黑色素瘤突变，包括BRAF，NRAS和PTEN。这一目标将有助于识别具有激活的PHIP水平的黑色素瘤的分子亚型。它还将确定具有激活的PHIP水平的三阴性黑色素瘤的比例。(3)验证PHIP在人黑色素瘤进展中的功能作用。我们将研究PHIP在介导人类黑色素瘤进展中的作用。我们将评估shRNA介导的PHIP敲低以及PHIP过表达在具有确定BRAF突变状态的早期传代人黑色素瘤培养物进展中的后果。如果成功的话，这些研究将验证PHIP作为黑色素瘤新的分子预后因子的作用，并建立其在这种疾病的分子分类中的实用性。最后，他们将验证PHIP在黑色素瘤进展中的功能作用，将其确立为可行的治疗靶点。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Recent studies performed in our laboratory have identified novel roles for the pleckstrin homology domain interacting protein (PHIP) gene as a marker and mediator of melanoma progression. Increased PHIP levels were an independent predictor of melanoma survival. PHIP was activated in triple-negative melanomas (harboring wild type BRAF, NRAS and PTEN), thereby helping to characterize this poorly understood molecular subset of melanoma. In addition, shRNA-mediated down regulation of PHIP significantly suppressed the invasiveness and metastatic potential of both murine and human melanoma, including in triple-negative melanoma cell lines. In this proposal, we plan to confirm the important role played by PHIP as a biomarker for melanoma and its role as a mediator of melanoma progression. Our specific aims are: (1) to validate the prognostic role of PHIP in melanoma. We will assess the prognostic role of PHIP in a distinct cohort of 250 patients with primary melanoma amassed from a different population. We will determine PHIP levels using both immunohistochemical analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization and correlate PHIP levels with survival. We will also assess PHIP levels in 200 melanoma metastases. This aim will validate the prognostic impact of PHIP in melanoma, and determine its role as a melanoma progression marker. (2) To assess the role of PHIP in the molecular classification of melanoma. We will examine the 450 melanomas with documented PHIP levels for the most commonly acquired mutations in melanoma, including BRAF, NRAS, and PTEN. This aim will serve to identify the molecular subtypes of melanoma with activated PHIP levels. It will also determine the proportion of triple-negative melanomas that have activated PHIP levels. (3) To validate the functional role of PHIP in the progression of human melanoma. We will examine the role of PHIP in mediating human melanoma progression. We will assess the consequences of both shRNA-mediated PHIP knockdown as well as PHIP overexpression in the progression of early-passage human melanoma cultures with defined BRAF mutational status. If successful, these studies will validate the role of PHIP as a novel molecular prognostic factor for melanoma and establish its utility in the molecular classification of this disease. Finally, they will validate he functional role of PHIP in melanoma progression, establishing it as a viable target for therapy.