Noncanonical EphA2 Signaling Is a Driver of Tumor-Endothelial Cell Interactions and Metastatic Dissemination in BRAF Inhibitor‒Resistant Melanoma

Acquired BRAF/MAPK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase inhibitor resistance in melanoma results in a new transcriptional state associated with an increased risk of metastasis. In this study, we identified noncanonical ephrin receptor (Eph) EphA2 signaling as a driver of the resistance-associated metastatic state. We used mass spectrometry-based proteomic and phenotypic assays to demonstrate that the expression of active noncanonical EphA2-S897E in melanoma cells led to a mesenchymal-to-amoeboid transition driven by Cdc42 activation. The induction of mesenchymal-to-amoeboid transition promoted melanoma cell invasion, survival under shear stress, adhesion to endothelial cells under continuous-flow conditions, increased permeability of endothelial cell monolayers, and stimulated melanoma transendothelial cell migration. In vivo, melanoma cells expressing EphA2-S897E or active Cdc42 showed superior lung retention after tail-vain injection. Analysis of BRAF inhibitor-sensitive and -resistant melanoma cells demonstrated resistance to be associated with a mesenchymal-to-amoeboid transition switch, upregulation of Cdc42 activity, increased invasion, and transendothelial migration. The drug-resistant metastatic state was dependent on histone deacetylase 8 activity. Silencing of histone deacetylase 8 led to the inhibition of EphA2 and protein kinase B phosphorylation, reduced invasion, and impaired melanoma cell-endothelial cell interactions. In summary, we have demonstrated that the metastatic state associated with acquired BRAF inhibitor resistance is dependent on noncanonical EphA2 signaling, leading to increased melanoma-endothelial cell interactions and enhanced tumor dissemination.