Replicative aging is associated with loss of genetic heterogeneity from extrachromosomal circular DNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Circular DNA can arise from all parts of eukaryotic chromosomes. In yeast, circular ribosomal DNA (rDNA) accumulates dramatically as cells age, however little is known about the accumulation of other chromosome-derived circles or the contribution of such circles to genetic variation in aged cells. We profiled circular DNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae populations sampled when young and after extensive aging. Young cells possessed highly diverse circular DNA populations but 94% of the circular DNA were lost after ∼15 divisions, whereas rDNA circles underwent massive accumulation to >95% of circular DNA. Circles present in both young and old cells were characterized by replication origins including circles from unique regions of the genome and repetitive regions: rDNA and telomeric Y’ regions. We further observed that circles can have flexible inheritance patterns: [HXT6/7circle] normally segregates to mother cells but in low glucose is present in up to 50% of cells, the majority of which must have inherited this circle from their mother. Interestingly, [HXT6/7circle] cells are eventually replaced by cells carrying stable chromosomal HXT6 HXT6/7 HXT7 amplifications, suggesting circular DNAs are intermediates in chromosomal amplifications. In conclusion, the heterogeneity of circular DNA offers flexibility in adaptation, but this heterogeneity is remarkably diminished with age.

Novel insights into breast cancer copy number genetic heterogeneity revealed by single-cell genome sequencing

Copy number alterations (CNAs) play an important role in molding the genomes of breast cancers and have been shown to be clinically useful for prognostic and therapeutic purposes. However, our knowledge of intra-tumoral genetic heterogeneity of this important class of somatic alterations is limited. Here, using single-cell sequencing, we comprehensively map out the facets of copy number alteration heterogeneity in a cohort of breast cancer tumors. Ou/var/www/html/elife/12-05-2020/backup/r analyses reveal: genetic heterogeneity of non-tumor cells (i.e. stroma) within the tumor mass; the extent to which copy number heterogeneity impacts breast cancer genomes and the importance of both the genomic location and dosage of sub-clonal events; the pervasive nature of genetic heterogeneity of chromosomal amplifications; and the association of copy number heterogeneity with clinical and biological parameters such as polyploidy and estrogen receptor negative status. Our data highlight the power of single-cell genomics in dissecting, in its many forms, intra-tumoral genetic heterogeneity of CNAs, the magnitude with which CNA heterogeneity affects the genomes of breast cancers, and the potential importance of CNA heterogeneity in phenomena such as therapeutic resistance and disease relapse.

Replicative aging is associated with loss of genetic heterogeneity from extrachromosomal circular DNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Circular DNA of chromosomal origin form from all parts of eukaryotic genomes. In yeast, circular rDNA accumulates as cells divide, contributing to replicative aging. However, little is known about how other chromosome-deri ved circles segregate and contribute to geneticvariation as cells age. We identified circular DNA across the genome of young S. cerevisiae populations and their aged descendants. Young cells had highly diverse circular DNA populations, but lost 94% of the different circular DNA after 20 divisions. Circles present in both young and old cells were characterized by replication origins and included circles from unique regions of the genome, rDNA circles and telomeric Y’ circles. The loss in genetic heterogeneity in aged cells was accompanied by massive accumulation of rDNA circles >95% of all circular DNA. We discovered circles had flexible inherence patterns. Glucose limited conditions selected for cells with glucose-transporter gene circles, [HXT6/7circle], and up to 50% of cells in a population carried them. [HXT6/7circle] cells were eventually substituted by cells carrying stable chromosomal HXT6 HXT6/7 HXT7 amplifications, suggesting circular DNA were intermediates in chromosomal amplifications. In conclusion, DNA circles can offer a flexible adaptive solution but cells lose genetic heterogeneity from circular DNA as they undergo replicative aging.

Histone Modifications in Development and Malignancy

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) development is driven by the accumulations of multiple genetic, epigenetic, and chromosomal alterations. These lesions can lead to modifications of the chromatin architecture. To identify novel oncogenic interactions driven by modifications of the chromatin 3D organization, we combined high-throughput chromatin conformation capture data (Hi-C) in lymphoma cells with whole genome sequencing (WGS) and epigenetic and transcriptional profiles of primary patient samples and cell lines. Recently, we found that a significant interplay exists between the compartmentalization of the genome into topologically associating domains (TADs) and epigenetic and transcriptional changes mediated by mutated EZH2. Indeed, EZH2 mutations drive aberrant increase of H3K27me3 within specific TADs, resulting in loss of promoter-promoter interactions, synergistic silencing of multiple tumor suppressors and, thus, increased B-cell proliferation and tumor aggressiveness1. Now, we are further investigating how chromosomal amplifications and translocations forms new long-range interactions between enhancers and promoters to support oncogene expression. Importantly, we observed that epigenetic editing of enhancers and pharmacological depletion of H3K27Ac reduces the number of interactions between specific enhancers and promoters and this loss of interactions directly affects gene expression and cell differentiation. These results indicate that is possible to block the oncogenic effect of chromosomal alterations by targeting epigenetic modification in enhancer regions and preventing the formation of oncogenic chromatin interactions. Overall, our results demonstrate that it is important to contextualize the effects of genomic alterations in the 3D organization of the chromatin, to uncover new oncogenic mechanisms and improve the design of new therapeutic approaches. Donaldson-Collier MC, Sungalee S, Zufferey M, et al. EZH2 oncogenic mutations drive epigenetic, transcriptional, and structural changes within chromatin domains. Nat Genet. 2019;51(3):517. doi:10.1038/s41588-018-0338-y Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Adaptive response to BET inhibition induces therapeutic vulnerability to MCL1 inhibitors in breast cancer

The development of effective targeted therapies for the treatment of basal-like breast cancers remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate that BET inhibition induces a multi-faceted adaptive response program leading to MCL1 protein-driven evasion of apoptosis in breast cancers. Consequently, co-targeting MCL1 and BET is highly synergistic in in vitro and in vivo breast cancer models. Drug response and genomics analyses revealed that MCL1 copy number alterations, including low-level gains, are selectively enriched in basal-like breast cancers and associated with effective BET and MCL1 co-targeting. The mechanism of adaptive response to BET inhibition involves upregulation of critical lipid metabolism enzymes including the rate-limiting enzyme stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD). Changes in the lipid metabolism are associated with increases in cell motility and membrane fluidity as well as transitions in cell morphology and adhesion. The structural changes in the cell membrane leads to re-localization and activation of HER2/EGFR which can be interdicted by inhibiting SCD activity. Active HER2/EGFR, in turn, induces accumulation of MCL1 protein and therapeutic vulnerability to MCL1 inhibitors. The BET protein, lipid metabolism and receptor tyrosine kinase activation cascade is observed in patient cohorts of basal-like and HER2-amplified breast cancers. The high frequency of MCL1 chromosomal amplifications (>30%) and gains (>50%) in basal-like breast cancers suggests that BET and MCL1 co-inhibition may have therapeutic utility in this aggressive subtype.

Transkingdom network reveals bacterial players associated with cervical cancer gene expression program

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide with human papillomavirus (HPV) being the main cause the disease. Chromosomal amplifications have been identified as a source of upregulation for cervical cancer driver genes but cannot fully explain increased expression of immune genes in invasive carcinoma. Insight into additional factors that may tip the balance from immune tolerance of HPV to the elimination of the virus may lead to better diagnosis markers. We investigated whether microbiota affect molecular pathways in cervical carcinogenesis by performing microbiome analysis via sequencing 16S rRNA in tumor biopsies from 121 patients. While we detected a large number of intra-tumor taxa (289 operational taxonomic units (OTUs)), we focused on the 38 most abundantly represented microbes. To search for microbes and host genes potentially involved in the interaction, we reconstructed a transkingdom network by integrating a previously discovered cervical cancer gene expression network with our bacterial co-abundance network and employed bipartite betweenness centrality. The top ranked microbes were represented by the familiesBacillaceae,Halobacteriaceae, andPrevotellaceae. While we could not define the first two families to the species level,Prevotellaceaewas assigned toPrevotella bivia. By co-culturing a cervical cancer cell line withP. bivia, we confirmed that three out of the ten top predicted genes in the transkingdom network (lysosomal associated membrane protein 3 (LAMP3), STAT1, TAP1), all regulators of immunological pathways, were upregulated by this microorganism. Therefore, we propose that intra-tumor microbiota may contribute to cervical carcinogenesis through the induction of immune response drivers, including the well-known cancer gene LAMP3.

Transkingdom network reveals bacterial players associated with cervical cancer gene expression program

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide with human papillomavirus (HPV) being the main cause of disease. Chromosomal amplifications have been identified as a source of upregulation of cervical cancer driver genes but cannot fully explain increased expression of immune genes in invasive carcinoma. Insight into additional factors that may tip the balance from making the immune system tolerate HPV to eliminate the virus may lead to markers for better diagnosis. We investigated whether microbiota affect molecular pathways in cervical carcinogenesis by performing microbiome analysis via sequencing 16S rRNA in tumor biopsies from 121 patients. While we detected a large number of intra-tumor taxa (289 OTUs), we focused on the thirty-eight most abundantly represented microbes. To search for microbes and host genes potentially involved in the interaction, we reconstructed a transkingdom network by integrating previously discovered cervical cancer gene expression network with our bacterial co-abundance network and employed bipartite betweenness centrality (BiBC). The top ranked microbes were represented by the families Bacillaceae, Halobacteriaceae, and Prevotellaceae. While we could not define the first two families to the species level, Prevotellaceae was assigned to Prevotella bivia. By co-culturing a cervical cancer cell line with P. bivia, we confirmed that three out of ten top predicted genes in the transkingdom network (LAMP3, STAT1, TAP1), all regulators of immunological pathways, were upregulated by this microorganism. Therefore, we propose that intra-tumor microbiota might contribute to cervical carcinogenesis through the induction of immune response drivers, including the well-known cancer gene LAMP3.

Transkingdom network reveals bacterial players associated with cervical cancer gene expression program

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide with human papillomavirus (HPV) being the main cause of disease. Chromosomal amplifications have been identified as a source of upregulation of cervical cancer driver genes but cannot fully explain increased expression of immune genes in invasive carcinoma. Insight into additional factors that may tip the balance from making the immune system tolerate HPV to eliminate the virus may lead to markers for better diagnosis. We investigated whether microbiota affect molecular pathways in cervical carcinogenesis by performing microbiome analysis via sequencing 16S rRNA in tumor biopsies from 121 patients. While we detected a large number of intra-tumor taxa (289 OTUs), we focused on the thirty-eight most abundantly represented microbes. To search for microbes and host genes potentially involved in the interaction, we reconstructed a transkingdom network by integrating previously discovered cervical cancer gene expression network with our bacterial co-abundance network and employed bipartite betweenness centrality (BiBC). The top ranked microbes were represented by the families Bacillaceae, Halobacteriaceae, and Prevotellaceae. While we could not define the first two families to the species level, Prevotellaceae was assigned to Prevotella bivia. By co-culturing a cervical cancer cell line with P. bivia, we confirmed that three out of ten top predicted genes in the transkingdom network (LAMP3, STAT1, TAP1), all regulators of immunological pathways, were upregulated by this microorganism. Therefore, we propose that intra-tumor microbiota might contribute to cervical carcinogenesis through the induction of immune response drivers, including the well-known cancer gene LAMP3.