RNAseq changes in pre MAPKi treatment and post MAPKi resistance Melanomas

Melanoma resistance to MAPK- or T cell checkpoint-targeted therapies represents a major clinical challenge, and treatment failures of MAPK-targeted therapies due to acquired resistance often require salvage immunotherapies. We show that genomic analysis of acquired resistance to MAPK inhibitors revealed key driver genes but failedto adequately account for clinical resistance. From a large-scale comparative analysis of temporal transcriptomes from patient-matched tumor biopsies, we discovered highly recurrent differential expression and signature outputs of c-MET, LEF1 and YAP1 as drivers of acquired MAPK inhibitor resistance. Moreover, integration of gene- and signature-based transcriptomic analysis revealed profound CD8 T cell deficiency detected in half of resistant melanomas in association with downregulation of dendritic cells and antigen presentation. We also propose a major methylomic basis to transcriptomic evolution under MAPK inhibitor selection. Thus, this database provides a rich informational resource, and the current landscape represents a benchmark to understanding melanoma therapeutic resistance.