Oncogenic extrachromosomal DNA functions as mobile enhancers to globally amplify chromosomal transcription
Recommended Citation
Zhu Y, Gujar AD, Wong CH, Tjong H, Ngan CY, Gong L, Chen YA, Kim H, Liu J, Li M, Mil-Homens A, Maurya R, Kuhlberg C, Sun F, Yi E, deCarvalho AC, Ruan Y, Verhaak RGW, and Wei CL. Oncogenic extrachromosomal DNA functions as mobile enhancers to globally amplify chromosomal transcription. Cancer Cell 2021; 39(5):694-707.e697.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-10-2021
Publication Title
Cancer cell
Abstract
Extrachromosomal, circular DNA (ecDNA) is emerging as a prevalent yet less characterized oncogenic alteration in cancer genomes. We leverage ChIA-PET and ChIA-Drop chromatin interaction assays to characterize genome-wide ecDNA-mediated chromatin contacts that impact transcriptional programs in cancers. ecDNAs in glioblastoma patient-derived neurosphere and prostate cancer cell cultures are marked by widespread intra-ecDNA and genome-wide chromosomal interactions. ecDNA-chromatin contact foci are characterized by broad and high-level H3K27ac signals converging predominantly on chromosomal genes of increased expression levels. Prostate cancer cells harboring synthetic ecDNA circles composed of characterized enhancers result in the genome-wide activation of chromosomal gene transcription. Deciphering the chromosomal targets of ecDNAs at single-molecule resolution reveals an association with actively expressed oncogenes spatially clustered within ecDNA-directed interaction networks. Our results suggest that ecDNA can function as mobile transcriptional enhancers to promote tumor progression and manifest a potential synthetic aneuploidy mechanism of transcription control in cancer.
PubMed ID
33836152
Volume
39
Issue
5
First Page
694
Last Page
707
