YAP facilitates melanoma migration through regulation of actin-related protein 2/3 complex subunit 5 (ARPC5)

Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) are transcriptional coactivators that have been implicated in driving metastasis and progression in many cancers, mainly through their transcriptional regulation of downstream targets. Although YAP and TAZ have shown redundancy in many contexts, it is still unknown whether or not this is true in melanoma. Here, we show that while both YAP and TAZ are expressed in a panel of melanoma cell lines, depletion of YAP results in decreased cell numbers, focal adhesions, and the ability to invade matrigel. Using non-biased RNA-sequencing analysis, we find that melanoma cells depleted of YAP, TAZ, or YAP/TAZ exhibit drastically different transcriptomes. We further uncover the ARP2/3 subunit ARPC5 as a specific target of YAP but not TAZ and that ARPC5 is essential for YAP-dependent maintenance of melanoma cell focal adhesion numbers. Our findings suggest that in melanoma, YAP drives melanoma progression, survival, and invasion.