Ewing sarcoma (EwS) is characterized by EWSR1-ETS fusion transcription factors converting polymorphic GGAA microsatellites (mSats) into potent neo-enhancers. Although the paucity of additional mutations makes EwS a genuine model to study principles of cooperation between dominant fusion oncogenes and neo-enhancers, this is impeded by the limited number of well-characterized models. Here we present the Ewing Sarcoma Cell Line Atlas (ESCLA), comprising whole-genome, DNA methylation, transcriptome, proteome, and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) data of 18 cell lines with inducible EWSR1-ETS knockdown. The ESCLA shows hundreds of EWSR1-ETS-targets, the nature of EWSR1-ETS-preferred GGAA mSats, and putative indirect modes of EWSR1-ETS-mediated gene regulation, converging in the duality of a specific but plastic EwS signature. We identify heterogeneously regulated EWSR1-ETS-targets as potential prognostic EwS biomarkers. Our freely available ESCLA (http://r2platform.com/escla/) is a rich resource for EwS research and highlights the power of comprehensive datasets to unravel principles of heterogeneous gene regulation by chimeric transcription factors.
GrantsLMU Munich's Institutional Strategy LMUexcellent within the framework of the German Excellence Initiative Mehr LEBEN fur Krebskranke Kinder - Bettina-Brau-Stiftung Wilhelm Sander Foundation Friedrich-Baur Foundation Matthias Lackas Foundation Dr. Leopold und Carmen Ellinger Foundation Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SMARCB1 Association German Cancer Aid Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation Barbara and Wilfried Mohr Foundation Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen - German Research Center for Environmental Health Munich Center of Health Sciences (MC-Health) as part of LMUinnovativ EU Agence Nationale de la Recherche ("Investissements d'Avenir" program) Canceropole Ile-de-France SiRIC-Curie program - SiRIC Heinrich F.C. Behr Foundation Federal Ministry of Education and Research