Loss of ten-eleven translocation 2 (TET2) facilitates aggressive behaviour in cutaneous melanoma by inducing peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1α expression and oxidative phosphorylation.

BACKGROUND: The induction of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α; encoded by PPARGC1A) expression and activation of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is associated with disease progression and treatment resistance in patients with cutaneous melanoma. Loss of the TET2 (ten-eleven translocation 2)/5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) epigenetic pathway is linked to melanoma aggressiveness, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

OBJECTIVES: To explore a relationship between TET2-mediated DNA hydroxymethylation and the induction of PPARGC1A/PGC-1α expression and activation of OXPHOS in melanoma.

METHODS: RNA sequencing data from 368 melanoma metastases and 102 primary melanoma tumours were analysed, with tumours categorized as 'TET2-low' or 'TET2-high', based on TET2 gene expression. Differential gene expression and gene set enrichment analyses were done, with further validation using a tissue microarray comprised of 33 clinical specimens and a publicly available gene expression dataset from 209 primary tumours. Confirmatory in vitro and in vivo studies were performed using melanoma cell lines with altered TET2 and PGC-1α expression. 5-hmC and 5-methylcytosine levels at PPARGC1A were assessed using hydroxymethylated (hMeDIPseq) and methylated DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing.

RESULTS: PGC-1α expression and activation of OXPHOS were significantly upregulated in TET2-low metastases and primary tumours. Tissue microarray analysis and gene expression studies showed an inverse relationship between TET2/5-hmC and PPARGC1A/PGC-1α expression and OXPHOS. In vitro and in vivo, PPARGC1A/PGC-1α expression and activation of OXPHOS was higher in TET2-low cells. hMeDIPseq identified significantly lower 5-hmC levels at an upstream PPARGC1A active enhancer in melanoma compared with naevi, in TET2-low compared with TET2-high cells and in cells expressing catalytically inactive TET2 compared with cells expressing wildtype TET2. Inhibition of PGC-1α expression and activation of OXPHOS mitigated migration and invasion in vitro and metastasis in vivo; TET2 loss was associated with resistance to mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway inhibition and enhanced sensitivity to OXPHOS inhibition.

CONCLUSIONS: Loss of TET2 promotes activation of PGC-1α/OXPHOS in melanoma, driving metabolic reprogramming that supports tumour progression and resistance to MAPK inhibition in a subset of tumours. Importantly, this phenotype renders TET2-deficient melanomas selectively vulnerable to OXPHOS inhibition, identifying an actionable therapeutic opportunity. These findings establish an epigenetic-metabolic axis as a critical determinant of melanoma aggressiveness and highlight TET2/5-hmC as a potential biomarker and a targetable pathway.