Abstract
Efforts are being directed to systematically analyze the non-coding regions of the genome for cancer-driving mutations1,2,3,4,5,6. cis-regulatory elements (CREs) represent a highly enriched subset of the non-coding regions of the genome in which to search for such mutations. Here we use high-throughput chromosome conformation capture techniques (Hi-C) for 19,023 promoter fragments to catalog the regulatory landscape of colorectal cancer in cell lines, mapping CREs and integrating these with whole-genome sequence and expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas7,8. We identify a recurrently mutated CRE interacting with the ETV1 promoter affecting gene expression. ETV1 expression influences cell viability and is associated with patient survival. We further refine our understanding of the regulatory effects of copy-number variations, showing that RASL11A is targeted by a previously identified enhancer amplification1. This study reveals new insights into the complex genetic alterations driving tumor development, providing a paradigm for employing chromosome conformation capture to decipher non-coding CREs relevant to cancer biology.
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Data availability
Hi-C, CHi-C and histone ChIP–seq sequencing data have been deposited in the European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA) under accession number EGAS00001001946. WGS, RNA-seq, CNV and survival data for TCGA COAD and READ samples and RNA-seq data for HT29 and LoVo lines (CCLE program) were obtained from the NCI Genomic Data Commons Data Portal (see URLs). Transcription-factor ChIP–seq data were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) (GSE49402). Survival data were obtained from GEO (GSE33113, GSE39582). Replication timing data were downloaded from the UCSC Genome Browser (see URLs). GTEx data (release v.6) were obtained from the GTex portal (see URLs).
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by grants from Cancer Research UK grant (C1298/A8362), the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/207–2013) under grant 258236 and FP7 collaborative project SYSCOL, all awarded to R.S.H. This publication is supported by COST Action BM1206. CIHR funded Epigenome Mapping Centre at McGill University (EP1-120608), awarded to T.P. We acknowledge the work of The Institute of Cancer Research Tumour Profiling Unit. The results published here are in part based on data generated by TCGA established by the NCI and NHGRI. Information about TCGA and the investigators and institutions that constitute the TCGA research network can be found at http://cancergenome.nih.gov/.
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G.O., P.J.L. and R.S.H. conceived and designed the study; G.O. performed Hi-C and CHi-C experiments, luciferase assays, CRISPR experiments, and cell viability and proliferation assays; G.O. and P.B. performed 3C validation; G.O., P.J.L., A.J.C., S.E.D., D.C. and K.L. performed bioinformatics; F.H. performed ChIP–seq experiments; T.P. and J.T. contributed reagents and materials for the ChIP–seq experiments; C.S.O. designed the capture baits; and G.O., P.J.L., A.J.C., S.E.D., D.C., P.B. and R.S.H wrote the manuscript with contributions from T.P., C.S.O. and J.T. All authors reviewed the final manuscript.
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Orlando, G., Law, P.J., Cornish, A.J. et al. Promoter capture Hi-C-based identification of recurrent noncoding mutations in colorectal cancer. Nat Genet 50, 1375–1380 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-018-0211-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-018-0211-z
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