TY - JOUR TI - Genome-wide CRISPR screens of oral squamous cell carcinoma reveal fitness genes in the Hippo pathway AU - Chai, Annie Wai Yeeng AU - Yee, Pei San AU - Price, Stacey AU - Yee, Shi Mun AU - Lee, Hui Mei AU - Tiong, Vivian KH AU - Gonçalves, Emanuel AU - Behan, Fiona M AU - Bateson, Jessica AU - Gilbert, James AU - Tan, Aik Choon AU - McDermott, Ultan AU - Garnett, Mathew J AU - Cheong, Sok Ching A2 - Golemis, Erica A A2 - Ojala, Päivi M A2 - Sudol, Marius VL - 9 PY - 2020 DA - 2020/09/29 SP - e57761 C1 - eLife 2020;9:e57761 DO - 10.7554/eLife.57761 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.57761 AB - New therapeutic targets for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are urgently needed. We conducted genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screens in 21 OSCC cell lines, primarily derived from Asians, to identify genetic vulnerabilities that can be explored as therapeutic targets. We identify known and novel fitness genes and demonstrate that many previously identified OSCC-related cancer genes are non-essential and could have limited therapeutic value, while other fitness genes warrant further investigation for their potential as therapeutic targets. We validate a distinctive dependency on YAP1 and WWTR1 of the Hippo pathway, where the lost-of-fitness effect of one paralog can be compensated only in a subset of lines. We also discover that OSCCs with WWTR1 dependency signature are significantly associated with biomarkers of favorable response toward immunotherapy. In summary, we have delineated the genetic vulnerabilities of OSCC, enabling the prioritization of therapeutic targets for further exploration, including the targeting of YAP1 and WWTR1. KW - CRISPR screen KW - oral squamous cell carcinoma KW - Hippo pathway KW - fitness genes KW - therapeutic targets JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -