Abstract 2222: Oncogene-mediated alterations in chromatin conformation

Abstract

Abstract Emerging evidence suggests that chromatin adopts a non-random three dimensional (3D) topology and that the organization of genes into structural hubs and domains affects their transcriptional status. How chromatin conformation changes in diseases such as cancer is poorly understood. Moreover, how oncogenic transcription factors, which bind to thousands of sites across the genome, influence gene regulation by globally altering the topology of chromatin requires further elucidation. To address these questions, we performed unbiased high-resolution mapping of intra- and inter-chromosome interactions upon over-expression of ERG, an oncogenic transcription factor frequently over-expressed in prostate cancer as a result of a gene fusion. By integrating data from genome-wide chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C), ERG binding and gene expression, we demonstrate for the first time that an oncogenic transcription factor can induce global, reproducible and functionally coherent changes in chromatin organization. We also show using spectral karyotyping that ERG over-expression is associated with a specific translocation involving chromosomes 13 and 15 at loci that are enriched in ERG binding. The results presented here have broader implications, as many driving genetic lesions in other cancer types involve altered levels of transcription factors due to genomic alterations (e.g. EWS-FLI1, c-Myc, n-Myc, PML-RARα). Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2222. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2222