p300/CBP is an essential driver of pathogenic enhancer activity and gene expression in Ewing sarcoma
Laura Godfrey, Brandon Regalado, Sydney R. Schweber, Charlie Hatton, Daniela V. Wenge, Yanhe Wen, Meaghan Boileau, Maria Wessels, Jun Qi, Christopher J. Ott, Kimberly Stegmaier, Miguel N. Rivera, Scott A. Armstrong
Abstract
The t(11;22) translocation encodes the EWS::FLI1 fusion oncoprotein which is the primary driver of Ewing sarcoma. EWS::FLI1 creates unique, de novo pathogenic enhancers that drive gene expression and are a central mechanism of oncogenesis. Which chromatin regulatory proteins are critical to this mechanism is understudied. Here, we perform a comparative analysis of the function of the chromatin complexes MLL3/4 and p300/CBP in EWS::FLI1-mediated gene regulation. Using EWS::FLI1 degradation models, we define a subset of EWS::FLI1-sensitive enhancers whose activity correlates with p300/CBP function. We perturb both chromatin complexes to establish that in contrast to MLL3/4, p300/CBP is a critical regulator of EWS::FLI1-driven enhancer activity and downstream gene expression. We also show that p300/CBP small-molecule inhibition decelerates tumor growth in vivo. Our work highlights the context-dependent nature of chromatin protein activity at oncogenic enhancers and reveals p300/CBP as an important regulator of Ewing sarcoma.