You met Jason Hanna, PhD, at the 2025 EHE Global Patient Conference, where he highlighted work his lab is undertaking in EHE. We are thrilled to share a recent publication in Molecular Oncology from the Hanna Lab at Purdue University, highlighting their findings from a study focused on the YAP1-TFE3 subtype of EHE.
The YAP1-TFE3 subtype accounts for only about 10% of EHE cases, so, while EHE is understudied, this very small subset receives less research focus. In this work, researchers found that the YAP1-TFE3 fusion protein forces endothelial cells to change their identity in a process called endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT). This causes the cells to lose their endothelial characteristics and take on more mesenchymal-like properties. The cells become more mobile and resist anoikis, a type of cell death that usually occurs when cells become detached. These changes can potentially help the cancer recur, spread, and progress.
In short, this work shows that YAP1-TFE3 hijacks endothelial cells, making them more aggressive through EndMT. This process depends heavily on TFE3 activity, suggesting that targeting TFE3 could be a viable approach to treating this EHE subtype.
We are grateful to Dr. Hanna and the research team for being active contributors to our collaborative research network.
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