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Mian Y, Wang L, Keikhosravi A, Guo K, Misteli T, Arda HE, Finn EH. Cell type- and transcription-independent spatial proximity between enhancers and promoters. Mol Biol Cell 2024; 35:ar96. [PMID: 38717453 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e24-02-0082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Cell type-specific enhancers are critically important for lineage specification. The mechanisms that determine cell-type specificity of enhancer activity, however, are not fully understood. Most current models for how enhancers function invoke physical proximity between enhancer elements and their target genes. Here, we use an imaging-based approach to examine the spatial relationship of cell type-specific enhancers and their target genes with single-cell resolution. Using high-throughput microscopy, we measure the spatial distance from target promoters to their cell type-specific active and inactive enhancers in individual pancreatic cells derived from distinct lineages. We find increased proximity of all promoter-enhancer pairs relative to non-enhancer pairs separated by similar genomic distances. Strikingly, spatial proximity between enhancers and target genes was unrelated to tissue-specific enhancer activity. Furthermore, promoter-enhancer proximity did not correlate with the expression status of target genes. Our results suggest that promoter-enhancer pairs exist in a distinctive chromatin environment but that genome folding is not a universal driver of cell-type specificity in enhancer function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasmine Mian
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Li Wang
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Adib Keikhosravi
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Konnie Guo
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Tom Misteli
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - H Efsun Arda
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Elizabeth H Finn
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
- Cell Cycle and Cancer Biology Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104
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Shukla V, Wang H, Varticovski L, Baek S, Wang R, Wu X, Echtenkamp F, Villa-Hernandez F, Prothro KP, Gara SK, Zhang MR, Shiffka S, Raziuddin R, Neckers LM, Linehan WM, Chen H, Hager GL, Schrump DS. Genome-Wide Analysis Identifies Nuclear Factor 1C as a Novel Transcription Factor and Potential Therapeutic Target in SCLC. J Thorac Oncol 2024:S1556-0864(24)00131-X. [PMID: 38583771 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtho.2024.03.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/30/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Recent insights regarding mechanisms mediating stemness, heterogeneity, and metastatic potential of lung cancers have yet to be fully translated to effective regimens for the treatment of these malignancies. This study sought to identify novel targets for lung cancer therapy. METHODS Transcriptomes and DNA methylomes of 14 SCLC and 10 NSCLC lines were compared with normal human small airway epithelial cells (SAECs) and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) clones derived from SAEC. SCLC lines, lung iPSC (Lu-iPSC), and SAEC were further evaluated by DNase I hypersensitive site sequencing (DHS-seq). Changes in chromatin accessibility and depths of transcription factor (TF) footprints were quantified using Bivariate analysis of Genomic Footprint. Standard techniques were used to evaluate growth, tumorigenicity, and changes in transcriptomes and glucose metabolism of SCLC cells after NFIC knockdown and to evaluate NFIC expression in SCLC cells after exposure to BET inhibitors. RESULTS Considerable commonality of transcriptomes and DNA methylomes was observed between Lu-iPSC and SCLC; however, this analysis was uninformative regarding pathways unique to lung cancer. Linking results of DHS-seq to RNA sequencing enabled identification of networks not previously associated with SCLC. When combined with footprint depth, NFIC, a transcription factor not previously associated with SCLC, had the highest score of occupancy at open chromatin sites. Knockdown of NFIC impaired glucose metabolism, decreased stemness, and inhibited growth of SCLC cells in vitro and in vivo. ChIP-seq analysis identified numerous sites occupied by BRD4 in the NFIC promoter region. Knockdown of BRD4 or treatment with Bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) inhibitors (BETis) markedly reduced NFIC expression in SCLC cells and SCLC PDX models. Approximately 8% of genes down-regulated by BETi treatment were repressed by NFIC knockdown in SCLC, whereas 34% of genes repressed after NFIC knockdown were also down-regulated in SCLC cells after BETi treatment. CONCLUSIONS NFIC is a key TF and possible mediator of transcriptional regulation by BET family proteins in SCLC. Our findings highlight the potential of genome-wide chromatin accessibility analysis for elucidating mechanisms of pulmonary carcinogenesis and identifying novel targets for lung cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivek Shukla
- Thoracic Epigenetics Section, Thoracic Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Present Address: Division of Nonclinical Sciences (DNCS), FDA, Silver Spring, Maryland
| | - Haitao Wang
- Thoracic Epigenetics Section, Thoracic Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Lyuba Varticovski
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Songjoon Baek
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Ruihong Wang
- Thoracic Epigenetics Section, Thoracic Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Xinwei Wu
- Thoracic Epigenetics Section, Thoracic Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Frank Echtenkamp
- Urologic Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Frank Villa-Hernandez
- Thoracic Epigenetics Section, Thoracic Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Katherine P Prothro
- Thoracic Epigenetics Section, Thoracic Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Sudheer K Gara
- Thoracic Epigenetics Section, Thoracic Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Mary R Zhang
- Thoracic Epigenetics Section, Thoracic Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Stephanie Shiffka
- Thoracic Epigenetics Section, Thoracic Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Razi Raziuddin
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Leonard M Neckers
- Urologic Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - W Marston Linehan
- Urologic Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Haobin Chen
- Thoracic Epigenetics Section, Thoracic Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Present Address: Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Gordon L Hager
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - David S Schrump
- Thoracic Epigenetics Section, Thoracic Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
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Miao Z, Wang J, Park K, Kuang D, Kim J. PACS allows comprehensive dissection of multiple factors governing chromatin accessibility from snATAC-seq data. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.07.30.551108. [PMID: 37577623 PMCID: PMC10418058 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.30.551108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Single nucleus ATAC-seq (snATAC-seq) experimental designs have become increasingly complex with multiple factors that might affect chromatin accessibility, including genotype, cell type, tissue of origin, sample location, batch, etc., whose compound effects are difficult to test by existing methods. In addition, current snATAC-seq data present statistical difficulties due to their sparsity and variations in individual sequence capture. To address these problems, we present a zero-adjusted statistical model, Probability model of Accessible Chromatin of Single cells (PACS), that can allow complex hypothesis testing of factors that affect accessibility while accounting for sparse and incomplete data. For differential accessibility analysis, PACS controls the false positive rate and achieves on average a 17% to 122% higher power than existing tools. We demonstrate the effectiveness of PACS through several analysis tasks including supervised cell type annotation, compound hypothesis testing, batch effect correction, and spatiotemporal modeling. We apply PACS to several datasets from a variety of tissues and show its ability to reveal previously undiscovered insights in snATAC-seq data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Miao
- Graduate Group in Genomics and Computational Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jianqiao Wang
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kernyu Park
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Da Kuang
- Deptartment Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Junhyong Kim
- Graduate Group in Genomics and Computational Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Deptartment Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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4
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Oropeza D, Herrera PL. Glucagon-producing α-cell transcriptional identity and reprogramming towards insulin production. Trends Cell Biol 2024; 34:180-197. [PMID: 37626005 DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2023.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
β-Cell replacement by in situ reprogramming of non-β-cells is a promising diabetes therapy. Following the observation that near-total β-cell ablation in adult mice triggers the reprogramming of pancreatic α-, δ-, and γ-cells into insulin (INS)-producing cells, recent studies are delving deep into the mechanisms controlling adult α-cell identity. Systematic analyses of the α-cell transcriptome and epigenome have started to pinpoint features that could be crucial for maintaining α-cell identity. Using different transgenic and chemical approaches, significant advances have been made in reprogramming α-cells in vivo into INS-secreting cells in mice. The recent reprogramming of human α-cells in vitro is an important step forward that must now be complemented with a comprehensive molecular dissection of the mechanisms controlling α-cell identity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Oropeza
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Pedro Luis Herrera
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
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5
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Sturgill D, Wang L, Arda HE. PancrESS - a meta-analysis resource for understanding cell-type specific expression in the human pancreas. BMC Genomics 2024; 25:76. [PMID: 38238687 PMCID: PMC10797729 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-09964-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The human pancreas is composed of specialized cell types producing hormones and enzymes critical to human health. These specialized functions are the result of cell type-specific transcriptional programs which manifest in cell-specific gene expression. Understanding these programs is essential to developing therapies for pancreatic disorders. Transcription in the human pancreas has been widely studied by single-cell RNA technologies, however the diversity of protocols and analysis methods hinders their interpretability in the aggregate. RESULTS In this work, we perform a meta-analysis of pancreatic single-cell RNA sequencing data. We present a database for reference transcriptome abundances and cell-type specificity metrics. This database facilitates the identification and definition of marker genes within the pancreas. Additionally, we introduce a versatile tool which is freely available as an R package, and should permit integration into existing workflows. Our tool accepts count data files generated by widely-used single-cell gene expression platforms in their original format, eliminating an additional pre-formatting step. Although we designed it to calculate expression specificity of pancreas cell types, our tool is agnostic to the biological source of count data, extending its applicability to other biological systems. CONCLUSIONS Our findings enhance the current understanding of expression specificity within the pancreas, surpassing previous work in terms of scope and detail. Furthermore, our database and tool enable researchers to perform similar calculations in diverse biological systems, expanding the applicability of marker gene identification and facilitating comparative analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Sturgill
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Li Wang
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - H Efsun Arda
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
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Vanheer L, Fantuzzi F, To SK, Schiavo A, Van Haele M, Ostyn T, Haesen T, Yi X, Janiszewski A, Chappell J, Rihoux A, Sawatani T, Roskams T, Pattou F, Kerr-Conte J, Cnop M, Pasque V. Inferring regulators of cell identity in the human adult pancreas. NAR Genom Bioinform 2023; 5:lqad068. [PMID: 37435358 PMCID: PMC10331937 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqad068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Cellular identity during development is under the control of transcription factors that form gene regulatory networks. However, the transcription factors and gene regulatory networks underlying cellular identity in the human adult pancreas remain largely unexplored. Here, we integrate multiple single-cell RNA-sequencing datasets of the human adult pancreas, totaling 7393 cells, and comprehensively reconstruct gene regulatory networks. We show that a network of 142 transcription factors forms distinct regulatory modules that characterize pancreatic cell types. We present evidence that our approach identifies regulators of cell identity and cell states in the human adult pancreas. We predict that HEYL, BHLHE41 and JUND are active in acinar, beta and alpha cells, respectively, and show that these proteins are present in the human adult pancreas as well as in human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived islet cells. Using single-cell transcriptomics, we found that JUND represses beta cell genes in hiPSC-alpha cells. BHLHE41 depletion induced apoptosis in primary pancreatic islets. The comprehensive gene regulatory network atlas can be explored interactively online. We anticipate our analysis to be the starting point for a more sophisticated dissection of how transcription factors regulate cell identity and cell states in the human adult pancreas.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - San Kit To
- Department of Development and Regeneration; KU Leuven - University of Leuven; Single-cell Omics Institute and Leuven Stem Cell Institute, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Andrea Schiavo
- ULB Center for Diabetes Research; Université Libre de Bruxelles; Route de Lennik 808, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Matthias Van Haele
- Department of Imaging and Pathology; Translational Cell and Tissue Research, KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven; Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tessa Ostyn
- Department of Imaging and Pathology; Translational Cell and Tissue Research, KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven; Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tine Haesen
- Department of Development and Regeneration; KU Leuven - University of Leuven; Single-cell Omics Institute and Leuven Stem Cell Institute, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Xiaoyan Yi
- ULB Center for Diabetes Research; Université Libre de Bruxelles; Route de Lennik 808, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Adrian Janiszewski
- Department of Development and Regeneration; KU Leuven - University of Leuven; Single-cell Omics Institute and Leuven Stem Cell Institute, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Joel Chappell
- Department of Development and Regeneration; KU Leuven - University of Leuven; Single-cell Omics Institute and Leuven Stem Cell Institute, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Adrien Rihoux
- Department of Development and Regeneration; KU Leuven - University of Leuven; Single-cell Omics Institute and Leuven Stem Cell Institute, Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Toshiaki Sawatani
- ULB Center for Diabetes Research; Université Libre de Bruxelles; Route de Lennik 808, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Tania Roskams
- Department of Imaging and Pathology; Translational Cell and Tissue Research, KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven; Herestraat 49, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Francois Pattou
- University of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institute Pasteur Lille, U1190-EGID, F-59000 Lille, France
- European Genomic Institute for Diabetes, F-59000 Lille, France
- University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Julie Kerr-Conte
- University of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institute Pasteur Lille, U1190-EGID, F-59000 Lille, France
- European Genomic Institute for Diabetes, F-59000 Lille, France
- University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Miriam Cnop
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Miriam Cnop. Tel: +32 2 555 6305; Fax: +32 2 555 6239;
| | - Vincent Pasque
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +32 16 376283; Fax: +32 16 330827;
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7
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Mawla AM, van der Meulen T, Huising MO. Chromatin accessibility differences between alpha, beta, and delta cells identifies common and cell type-specific enhancers. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:202. [PMID: 37069576 PMCID: PMC10108528 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09293-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND High throughput sequencing has enabled the interrogation of the transcriptomic landscape of glucagon-secreting alpha cells, insulin-secreting beta cells, and somatostatin-secreting delta cells. These approaches have furthered our understanding of expression patterns that define healthy or diseased islet cell types and helped explicate some of the intricacies between major islet cell crosstalk and glucose regulation. All three endocrine cell types derive from a common pancreatic progenitor, yet alpha and beta cells have partially opposing functions, and delta cells modulate and control insulin and glucagon release. While gene expression signatures that define and maintain cellular identity have been widely explored, the underlying epigenetic components are incompletely characterized and understood. However, chromatin accessibility and remodeling is a dynamic attribute that plays a critical role to determine and maintain cellular identity. RESULTS Here, we compare and contrast the chromatin landscape between mouse alpha, beta, and delta cells using ATAC-Seq to evaluate the significant differences in chromatin accessibility. The similarities and differences in chromatin accessibility between these related islet endocrine cells help define their fate in support of their distinct functional roles. We identify patterns that suggest that both alpha and delta cells are poised, but repressed, from becoming beta-like. We also identify patterns in differentially enriched chromatin that have transcription factor motifs preferentially associated with different regions of the genome. Finally, we not only confirm and visualize previously discovered common endocrine- and cell specific- enhancer regions across differentially enriched chromatin, but identify novel regions as well. We compiled our chromatin accessibility data in a freely accessible database of common endocrine- and cell specific-enhancer regions that can be navigated with minimal bioinformatics expertise. CONCLUSIONS Both alpha and delta cells appear poised, but repressed, from becoming beta cells in murine pancreatic islets. These data broadly support earlier findings on the plasticity in identity of non-beta cells under certain circumstances. Furthermore, differential chromatin accessibility shows preferentially enriched distal-intergenic regions in beta cells, when compared to either alpha or delta cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex M Mawla
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior, College of Biological Sciences, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Talitha van der Meulen
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior, College of Biological Sciences, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Mark O Huising
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior, College of Biological Sciences, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
- Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, School of Medicine, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
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Su C, Gao L, May CL, Pippin JA, Boehm K, Lee M, Liu C, Pahl MC, Golson ML, Naji A, Grant SFA, Wells AD, Kaestner KH. 3D chromatin maps of the human pancreas reveal lineage-specific regulatory architecture of T2D risk. Cell Metab 2022; 34:1394-1409.e4. [PMID: 36070683 PMCID: PMC9664375 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2022.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Revised: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) chromatin organization maps help dissect cell-type-specific gene regulatory programs. Furthermore, 3D chromatin maps contribute to elucidating the pathogenesis of complex genetic diseases by connecting distal regulatory regions and genetic risk variants to their respective target genes. To understand the cell-type-specific regulatory architecture of diabetes risk, we generated transcriptomic and 3D epigenomic profiles of human pancreatic acinar, alpha, and beta cells using single-cell RNA-seq, single-cell ATAC-seq, and high-resolution Hi-C of sorted cells. Comparisons of these profiles revealed differential A/B (open/closed) chromatin compartmentalization, chromatin looping, and transcriptional factor-mediated control of cell-type-specific gene regulatory programs. We identified a total of 4,750 putative causal-variant-to-target-gene pairs at 194 type 2 diabetes GWAS signals using pancreatic 3D chromatin maps. We found that the connections between candidate causal variants and their putative target effector genes are cell-type stratified and emphasize previously underappreciated roles for alpha and acinar cells in diabetes pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun Su
- Division of Human Genetics and Endocrinology & Diabetes, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Center for Spatial and Functional Genomics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Long Gao
- Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Catherine L May
- Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - James A Pippin
- Division of Human Genetics and Endocrinology & Diabetes, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Center for Spatial and Functional Genomics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Keith Boehm
- Division of Human Genetics and Endocrinology & Diabetes, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Center for Spatial and Functional Genomics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michelle Lee
- Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Chengyang Liu
- Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Matthew C Pahl
- Division of Human Genetics and Endocrinology & Diabetes, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Center for Spatial and Functional Genomics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Maria L Golson
- Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Ali Naji
- Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Struan F A Grant
- Division of Human Genetics and Endocrinology & Diabetes, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Center for Spatial and Functional Genomics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Andrew D Wells
- Center for Spatial and Functional Genomics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Institute for Immunology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Klaus H Kaestner
- Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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9
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Nussinov R, Zhang M, Maloney R, Tsai CJ, Yavuz BR, Tuncbag N, Jang H. Mechanism of activation and the rewired network: New drug design concepts. Med Res Rev 2021; 42:770-799. [PMID: 34693559 PMCID: PMC8837674 DOI: 10.1002/med.21863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Precision oncology benefits from effective early phase drug discovery decisions. Recently, drugging inactive protein conformations has shown impressive successes, raising the cardinal questions of which targets can profit and what are the principles of the active/inactive protein pharmacology. Cancer driver mutations have been established to mimic the protein activation mechanism. We suggest that the decision whether to target an inactive (or active) conformation should largely rest on the protein mechanism of activation. We next discuss the recent identification of double (multiple) same-allele driver mutations and their impact on cell proliferation and suggest that like single driver mutations, double drivers also mimic the mechanism of activation. We further suggest that the structural perturbations of double (multiple) in cis mutations may reveal new surfaces/pockets for drug design. Finally, we underscore the preeminent role of the cellular network which is deregulated in cancer. Our structure-based review and outlook updates the traditional Mechanism of Action, informs decisions, and calls attention to the intrinsic activation mechanism of the target protein and the rewired tumor-specific network, ushering innovative considerations in precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Nussinov
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Laboratory of Cancer Immunometabolism, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, USA.,Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Mingzhen Zhang
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Laboratory of Cancer Immunometabolism, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Ryan Maloney
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Laboratory of Cancer Immunometabolism, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Chung-Jung Tsai
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Laboratory of Cancer Immunometabolism, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Bengi Ruken Yavuz
- Department of Health Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Nurcan Tuncbag
- Department of Health Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.,Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, College of Engineering, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey.,Koc University Research Center for Translational Medicine, School of Medicine, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Hyunbum Jang
- Computational Structural Biology Section, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in the Laboratory of Cancer Immunometabolism, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, USA
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10
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Maurya SS. Role of Enhancers in Development and Diseases. EPIGENOMES 2021; 5:epigenomes5040021. [PMID: 34968246 PMCID: PMC8715447 DOI: 10.3390/epigenomes5040021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Enhancers are cis-regulatory elements containing short DNA sequences that serve as binding sites for pioneer/regulatory transcription factors, thus orchestrating the regulation of genes critical for lineage determination. The activity of enhancer elements is believed to be determined by transcription factor binding, thus determining the cell state identity during development. Precise spatio-temporal control of the transcriptome during lineage specification requires the coordinated binding of lineage-specific transcription factors to enhancers. Thus, enhancers are the primary determinants of cell identity. Numerous studies have explored the role and mechanism of enhancers during development and disease, and various basic questions related to the functions and mechanisms of enhancers have not yet been fully answered. In this review, we discuss the recently published literature regarding the roles of enhancers, which are critical for various biological processes governing development. Furthermore, we also highlight that altered enhancer landscapes provide an essential context to understand the etiologies and mechanisms behind numerous complex human diseases, providing new avenues for effective enhancer-based therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shailendra S Maurya
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Department of Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
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11
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Walker JT, Saunders DC, Brissova M, Powers AC. The Human Islet: Mini-Organ With Mega-Impact. Endocr Rev 2021; 42:605-657. [PMID: 33844836 PMCID: PMC8476939 DOI: 10.1210/endrev/bnab010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
This review focuses on the human pancreatic islet-including its structure, cell composition, development, function, and dysfunction. After providing a historical timeline of key discoveries about human islets over the past century, we describe new research approaches and technologies that are being used to study human islets and how these are providing insight into human islet physiology and pathophysiology. We also describe changes or adaptations in human islets in response to physiologic challenges such as pregnancy, aging, and insulin resistance and discuss islet changes in human diabetes of many forms. We outline current and future interventions being developed to protect, restore, or replace human islets. The review also highlights unresolved questions about human islets and proposes areas where additional research on human islets is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- John T Walker
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Diane C Saunders
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Marcela Brissova
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Alvin C Powers
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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12
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Sun X, Wang L, Obayomi SMB, Wei Z. Epigenetic Regulation of β Cell Identity and Dysfunction. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2021; 12:725131. [PMID: 34630329 PMCID: PMC8498190 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2021.725131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
β cell dysfunction and failure are driving forces of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) pathogenesis. Investigating the underlying mechanisms of β cell dysfunction may provide novel targets for the development of next generation therapy for T2DM. Epigenetics is the study of gene expression changes that do not involve DNA sequence changes, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs. Specific epigenetic signatures at all levels, including DNA methylation, chromatin accessibility, histone modification, and non-coding RNA, define β cell identity during embryonic development, postnatal maturation, and maintain β cell function at homeostatic states. During progression of T2DM, overnutrition, inflammation, and other types of stress collaboratively disrupt the homeostatic epigenetic signatures in β cells. Dysregulated epigenetic signatures, and the associating transcriptional outputs, lead to the dysfunction and eventual loss of β cells. In this review, we will summarize recent discoveries of the establishment and disruption of β cell-specific epigenetic signatures, and discuss the potential implication in therapeutic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqiang Sun
- Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ, United States
- Tianjin Fourth Central Hospital, Tianjin, China
- The Fourth Central Hospital Affiliated to Nankai University, Tianjin, China
- The Fourth Central Hospital Clinical College, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Liu Wang
- Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ, United States
| | - S M Bukola Obayomi
- Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ, United States
| | - Zong Wei
- Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ, United States
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13
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Gopalan V, Singh A, Rashidi Mehrabadi F, Wang L, Ruppin E, Arda HE, Hannenhalli S. A Transcriptionally Distinct Subpopulation of Healthy Acinar Cells Exhibit Features of Pancreatic Progenitors and PDAC. Cancer Res 2021; 81:3958-3970. [PMID: 34049974 PMCID: PMC8338776 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-21-0427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumors can originate either from acinar or ductal cells in the adult pancreas. We re-analyze multiple pancreas and PDAC single-cell RNA-seq datasets and find a subset of nonmalignant acinar cells, which we refer to as acinar edge (AE) cells, whose transcriptomes highly diverge from a typical acinar cell in each dataset. Genes upregulated among AE cells are enriched for transcriptomic signatures of pancreatic progenitors, acinar dedifferentiation, and several oncogenic programs. AE-upregulated genes are upregulated in human PDAC tumors, and consistently, their promoters are hypomethylated. High expression of these genes is associated with poor patient survival. The fraction of AE-like cells increases with age in healthy pancreatic tissue, which is not explained by clonal mutations, thus pointing to a nongenetic source of variation. The fraction of AE-like cells is also significantly higher in human pancreatitis samples. Finally, we find edge-like states in lung, liver, prostate, and colon tissues, suggesting that subpopulations of healthy cells across tissues can exist in pre-neoplastic states. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings show "edge" epithelial cell states with oncogenic transcriptional activity in human organs without oncogenic mutations. In the pancreas, the fraction of acinar cells increases with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vishaka Gopalan
- Cancer Data Science Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
| | - Arashdeep Singh
- Cancer Data Science Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Farid Rashidi Mehrabadi
- Cancer Data Science Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
- Department of Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
| | - Li Wang
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Eytan Ruppin
- Cancer Data Science Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - H Efsun Arda
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Sridhar Hannenhalli
- Cancer Data Science Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
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14
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Chiou J, Geusz RJ, Okino ML, Han JY, Miller M, Melton R, Beebe E, Benaglio P, Huang S, Korgaonkar K, Heller S, Kleger A, Preissl S, Gorkin DU, Sander M, Gaulton KJ. Interpreting type 1 diabetes risk with genetics and single-cell epigenomics. Nature 2021; 594:398-402. [PMID: 34012112 PMCID: PMC10560508 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03552-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 46.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Genetic risk variants that have been identified in genome-wide association studies of complex diseases are primarily non-coding1. Translating these risk variants into mechanistic insights requires detailed maps of gene regulation in disease-relevant cell types2. Here we combined two approaches: a genome-wide association study of type 1 diabetes (T1D) using 520,580 samples, and the identification of candidate cis-regulatory elements (cCREs) in pancreas and peripheral blood mononuclear cells using single-nucleus assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with sequencing (snATAC-seq) of 131,554 nuclei. Risk variants for T1D were enriched in cCREs that were active in T cells and other cell types, including acinar and ductal cells of the exocrine pancreas. Risk variants at multiple T1D signals overlapped with exocrine-specific cCREs that were linked to genes with exocrine-specific expression. At the CFTR locus, the T1D risk variant rs7795896 mapped to a ductal-specific cCRE that regulated CFTR; the risk allele reduced transcription factor binding, enhancer activity and CFTR expression in ductal cells. These findings support a role for the exocrine pancreas in the pathogenesis of T1D and highlight the power of large-scale genome-wide association studies and single-cell epigenomics for understanding the cellular origins of complex disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Chiou
- Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Internal Medicine Research Unit, Pfizer Worldwide Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Ryan J Geusz
- Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Mei-Lin Okino
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Diabetes Research Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Jee Yun Han
- Center for Epigenomics, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Michael Miller
- Center for Epigenomics, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Rebecca Melton
- Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Elisha Beebe
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Diabetes Research Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Paola Benaglio
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Diabetes Research Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Serina Huang
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Diabetes Research Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Katha Korgaonkar
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Diabetes Research Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Sandra Heller
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | | | - Sebastian Preissl
- Center for Epigenomics, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - David U Gorkin
- Center for Epigenomics, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Maike Sander
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Diabetes Research Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Kyle J Gaulton
- Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Diabetes Research Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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15
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Single-cell chromatin accessibility identifies pancreatic islet cell type- and state-specific regulatory programs of diabetes risk. Nat Genet 2021; 53:455-466. [PMID: 33795864 PMCID: PMC9037575 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-021-00823-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Single-nucleus assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (snATAC-seq) creates new opportunities to dissect cell type-specific mechanisms of complex diseases. Since pancreatic islets are central to type 2 diabetes (T2D), we profiled 15,298 islet cells by using combinatorial barcoding snATAC-seq and identified 12 clusters, including multiple alpha, beta and delta cell states. We cataloged 228,873 accessible chromatin sites and identified transcription factors underlying lineage- and state-specific regulation. We observed state-specific enrichment of fasting glucose and T2D genome-wide association studies for beta cells and enrichment for other endocrine cell types. At T2D signals localized to islet-accessible chromatin, we prioritized variants with predicted regulatory function and co-accessibility with target genes. A causal T2D variant rs231361 at the KCNQ1 locus had predicted effects on a beta cell enhancer co-accessible with INS and genome editing in embryonic stem cell-derived beta cells affected INS levels. Together our findings demonstrate the power of single-cell epigenomics for interpreting complex disease genetics.
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16
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López de Maturana E, Rodríguez JA, Alonso L, Lao O, Molina-Montes E, Martín-Antoniano IA, Gómez-Rubio P, Lawlor R, Carrato A, Hidalgo M, Iglesias M, Molero X, Löhr M, Michalski C, Perea J, O'Rorke M, Barberà VM, Tardón A, Farré A, Muñoz-Bellvís L, Crnogorac-Jurcevic T, Domínguez-Muñoz E, Gress T, Greenhalf W, Sharp L, Arnes L, Cecchini L, Balsells J, Costello E, Ilzarbe L, Kleeff J, Kong B, Márquez M, Mora J, O'Driscoll D, Scarpa A, Ye W, Yu J, García-Closas M, Kogevinas M, Rothman N, Silverman DT, Albanes D, Arslan AA, Beane-Freeman L, Bracci PM, Brennan P, Bueno-de-Mesquita B, Buring J, Canzian F, Du M, Gallinger S, Gaziano JM, Goodman PJ, Gunter M, LeMarchand L, Li D, Neale RE, Peters U, Petersen GM, Risch HA, Sánchez MJ, Shu XO, Thornquist MD, Visvanathan K, Zheng W, Chanock SJ, Easton D, Wolpin BM, Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, Klein AP, Amundadottir LT, Marti-Renom MA, Real FX, Malats N. A multilayered post-GWAS assessment on genetic susceptibility to pancreatic cancer. Genome Med 2021; 13:15. [PMID: 33517887 PMCID: PMC7849104 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-020-00816-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a complex disease in which both non-genetic and genetic factors interplay. To date, 40 GWAS hits have been associated with PC risk in individuals of European descent, explaining 4.1% of the phenotypic variance. METHODS We complemented a new conventional PC GWAS (1D) with genome spatial autocorrelation analysis (2D) permitting to prioritize low frequency variants not detected by GWAS. These were further expanded via Hi-C map (3D) interactions to gain additional insight into the inherited basis of PC. In silico functional analysis of public genomic information allowed prioritization of potentially relevant candidate variants. RESULTS We identified several new variants located in genes for which there is experimental evidence of their implication in the biology and function of pancreatic acinar cells. Among them is a novel independent variant in NR5A2 (rs3790840) with a meta-analysis p value = 5.91E-06 in 1D approach and a Local Moran's Index (LMI) = 7.76 in 2D approach. We also identified a multi-hit region in CASC8-a lncRNA associated with pancreatic carcinogenesis-with a lowest p value = 6.91E-05. Importantly, two new PC loci were identified both by 2D and 3D approaches: SIAH3 (LMI = 18.24), CTRB2/BCAR1 (LMI = 6.03), in addition to a chromatin interacting region in XBP1-a major regulator of the ER stress and unfolded protein responses in acinar cells-identified by 3D; all of them with a strong in silico functional support. CONCLUSIONS This multi-step strategy, combined with an in-depth in silico functional analysis, offers a comprehensive approach to advance the study of PC genetic susceptibility and could be applied to other diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evangelina López de Maturana
- Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Group, Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), C/Melchor Fernandez Almagro 3, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Antonio Rodríguez
- CNAG-CRG, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lola Alonso
- Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Group, Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), C/Melchor Fernandez Almagro 3, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Oscar Lao
- CNAG-CRG, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Esther Molina-Montes
- Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Group, Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), C/Melchor Fernandez Almagro 3, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Isabel Adoración Martín-Antoniano
- Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Group, Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), C/Melchor Fernandez Almagro 3, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Paulina Gómez-Rubio
- Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Group, Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), C/Melchor Fernandez Almagro 3, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rita Lawlor
- ARC-Net Centre for Applied Research on Cancer and Department of Pathology and Diagnostics, University and Hospital Trust of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Alfredo Carrato
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Oncology, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, IRYCIS, Alcala University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Hidalgo
- Madrid-Norte-Sanchinarro Hospital, Madrid, Spain
- Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, USA
| | - Mar Iglesias
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
- Hospital del Mar-Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xavier Molero
- Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and CIBEREHD, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Matthias Löhr
- Gastrocentrum, Karolinska Institutet and University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Christopher Michalski
- Department of Surgery, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Department of Visceral, Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, Martin-Luther-University Halle-WittenberHalle (Saale), Halle, Germany
| | - José Perea
- Department of Surgery, Hospital 12 de Octubre, and Department of Surgery and Health Research Institute, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Michael O'Rorke
- Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
- College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | | | - Adonina Tardón
- Department of Medicine, Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias (IUOPA), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain
- CIBERESP, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antoni Farré
- Department of Gastroenterology and Clinical Biochemistry, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Luís Muñoz-Bellvís
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Surgery, Hospital Universitario de Salamanca - IBSAL, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Tanja Crnogorac-Jurcevic
- Barts Cancer Institute, Centre for Molecular Oncology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Enrique Domínguez-Muñoz
- Department of Gastroenterology, University Clinical Hospital of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Thomas Gress
- Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - William Greenhalf
- Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Linda Sharp
- National Cancer Registry Ireland and HRB Clinical Research Facility, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
- Newcastle University, Institute of Health & Society, Newcastle, UK
| | - Luís Arnes
- Centre for Stem Cell Research and Developmental Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lluís Cecchini
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
- Hospital del Mar-Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joaquim Balsells
- Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and CIBEREHD, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eithne Costello
- Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Lucas Ilzarbe
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
- Hospital del Mar-Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jörg Kleeff
- Department of Surgery, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Department of Visceral, Vascular and Endocrine Surgery, Martin-Luther-University Halle-WittenberHalle (Saale), Halle, Germany
| | - Bo Kong
- Department of Surgery, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Mirari Márquez
- Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Group, Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), C/Melchor Fernandez Almagro 3, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Josefina Mora
- Department of Gastroenterology and Clinical Biochemistry, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Damian O'Driscoll
- National Cancer Registry Ireland and HRB Clinical Research Facility, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Aldo Scarpa
- ARC-Net Centre for Applied Research on Cancer and Department of Pathology and Diagnostics, University and Hospital Trust of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Weimin Ye
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stokholm, Sweden
| | - Jingru Yu
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stokholm, Sweden
| | - Montserrat García-Closas
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Manolis Kogevinas
- CIBERESP, Madrid, Spain
- Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica - Hospital del Mar, Centre de Recerca en Epidemiologia Ambiental (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nathaniel Rothman
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Debra T Silverman
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Demetrius Albanes
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Alan A Arslan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Laura Beane-Freeman
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Paige M Bracci
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Paul Brennan
- International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France
| | - Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita
- Deparment for Determinants of Chronic Diseases (DCD), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Julie Buring
- Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Federico Canzian
- Genomic Epidemiology Group, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Margaret Du
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Steve Gallinger
- Prosserman Centre for Population Health Research, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health System, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - J Michael Gaziano
- Departments of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, VA Boston and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Phyllis J Goodman
- SWOG Statistical Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Marc Gunter
- International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France
| | - Loic LeMarchand
- Cancer Epidemiology Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Donghui Li
- University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Rachael E Neale
- Population Health Department, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Ulrika Peters
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Gloria M Petersen
- Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Harvey A Risch
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Maria José Sánchez
- Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria Granada, Granada, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Xiao-Ou Shu
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Mark D Thornquist
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Kala Visvanathan
- Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Wei Zheng
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Stephen J Chanock
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Douglas Easton
- Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Brian M Wolpin
- Department Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, USA
| | - Rachael Z Stolzenberg-Solomon
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Alison P Klein
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Laufey T Amundadottir
- Laboratory of Translational Genomics, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Marc A Marti-Renom
- National Centre for Genomic Analysis (CNAG), Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), ICREA, Baldiri Reixac 4, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Francisco X Real
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain
- Epithelial Carcinogenesis Group, Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), Madrid, Spain
- Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Núria Malats
- Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Group, Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), C/Melchor Fernandez Almagro 3, 28029, Madrid, Spain.
- CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain.
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17
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Bevacqua RJ, Lam JY, Peiris H, Whitener RL, Kim S, Gu X, Friedlander MSH, Kim SK. SIX2 and SIX3 coordinately regulate functional maturity and fate of human pancreatic β cells. Genes Dev 2021; 35:234-249. [PMID: 33446570 PMCID: PMC7849364 DOI: 10.1101/gad.342378.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The physiological functions of many vital tissues and organs continue to mature after birth, but the genetic mechanisms governing this postnatal maturation remain an unsolved mystery. Human pancreatic β cells produce and secrete insulin in response to physiological cues like glucose, and these hallmark functions improve in the years after birth. This coincides with expression of the transcription factors SIX2 and SIX3, whose functions in native human β cells remain unknown. Here, we show that shRNA-mediated SIX2 or SIX3 suppression in human pancreatic adult islets impairs insulin secretion. However, transcriptome studies revealed that SIX2 and SIX3 regulate distinct targets. Loss of SIX2 markedly impaired expression of genes governing β-cell insulin processing and output, glucose sensing, and electrophysiology, while SIX3 loss led to inappropriate expression of genes normally expressed in fetal β cells, adult α cells, and other non-β cells. Chromatin accessibility studies identified genes directly regulated by SIX2. Moreover, β cells from diabetic humans with impaired insulin secretion also had reduced SIX2 transcript levels. Revealing how SIX2 and SIX3 govern functional maturation and maintain developmental fate in native human β cells should advance β-cell replacement and other therapeutic strategies for diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romina J Bevacqua
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Jonathan Y Lam
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Heshan Peiris
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Robert L Whitener
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Seokho Kim
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Xueying Gu
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Mollie S H Friedlander
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Seung K Kim
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
- Department of Medicine (Endocrinology), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
- Stanford Diabetes Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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18
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Alonso-Curbelo D, Ho YJ, Burdziak C, Maag JLV, Morris JP, Chandwani R, Chen HA, Tsanov KM, Barriga FM, Luan W, Tasdemir N, Livshits G, Azizi E, Chun J, Wilkinson JE, Mazutis L, Leach SD, Koche R, Pe'er D, Lowe SW. A gene-environment-induced epigenetic program initiates tumorigenesis. Nature 2021; 590:642-648. [PMID: 33536616 PMCID: PMC8482641 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03147-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Tissue damage increases the risk of cancer through poorly understood mechanisms1. In mouse models of pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis associated with tissue injury collaborates with activating mutations in the Kras oncogene to markedly accelerate the formation of early neoplastic lesions and, ultimately, adenocarcinoma2,3. Here, by integrating genomics, single-cell chromatin assays and spatiotemporally controlled functional perturbations in autochthonous mouse models, we show that the combination of Kras mutation and tissue damage promotes a unique chromatin state in the pancreatic epithelium that distinguishes neoplastic transformation from normal regeneration and is selected for throughout malignant evolution. This cancer-associated epigenetic state emerges within 48 hours of pancreatic injury, and involves an 'acinar-to-neoplasia' chromatin switch that contributes to the early dysregulation of genes that define human pancreatic cancer. Among the factors that are most rapidly activated after tissue damage in the pre-malignant pancreatic epithelium is the alarmin cytokine interleukin 33, which recapitulates the effects of injury in cooperating with mutant Kras to unleash the epigenetic remodelling program of early neoplasia and neoplastic transformation. Collectively, our study demonstrates how gene-environment interactions can rapidly produce gene-regulatory programs that dictate early neoplastic commitment, and provides a molecular framework for understanding the interplay between genetic and environmental cues in the initiation of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Direna Alonso-Curbelo
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yu-Jui Ho
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Cassandra Burdziak
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- Tri-Institutional Training Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jesper L V Maag
- Center for Epigenetics Research, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - John P Morris
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rohit Chandwani
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
| | - Hsuan-An Chen
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- Louis V. Gerstner Jr Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kaloyan M Tsanov
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Francisco M Barriga
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wei Luan
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nilgun Tasdemir
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Geulah Livshits
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Elham Azizi
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jaeyoung Chun
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- Alan and Sandra Gerry Metastasis and Tumor Ecosystems Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - John E Wilkinson
- Department of Pathology, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Linas Mazutis
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- Alan and Sandra Gerry Metastasis and Tumor Ecosystems Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Steven D Leach
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- Dartmouth Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Hanover, NH, USA
- David M. Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Richard Koche
- Center for Epigenetics Research, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dana Pe'er
- Computational and Systems Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Scott W Lowe
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA.
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19
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Espinet E, Gu Z, Imbusch CD, Giese NA, Büscher M, Safavi M, Weisenburger S, Klein C, Vogel V, Falcone M, Insua-Rodríguez J, Reitberger M, Thiel V, Kossi SO, Muckenhuber A, Sarai K, Lee AYL, Backx E, Zarei S, Gaida MM, Rodríguez-Paredes M, Donato E, Yen HY, Eils R, Schlesner M, Pfarr N, Hackert T, Plass C, Brors B, Steiger K, Weichenhan D, Arda HE, Rooman I, Kopp JL, Strobel O, Weichert W, Sprick MR, Trumpp A. Aggressive PDACs Show Hypomethylation of Repetitive Elements and the Execution of an Intrinsic IFN Program Linked to a Ductal Cell of Origin. Cancer Discov 2020; 11:638-659. [PMID: 33060108 DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-20-1202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by extensive desmoplasia, which challenges the molecular analyses of bulk tumor samples. Here we FACS-purified epithelial cells from human PDAC and normal pancreas and derived their genome-wide transcriptome and DNA methylome landscapes. Clustering based on DNA methylation revealed two distinct PDAC groups displaying different methylation patterns at regions encoding repeat elements. Methylationlow tumors are characterized by higher expression of endogenous retroviral transcripts and double-stranded RNA sensors, which lead to a cell-intrinsic activation of an interferon signature (IFNsign). This results in a protumorigenic microenvironment and poor patient outcome. Methylationlow/IFNsignhigh and Methylationhigh/IFNsignlow PDAC cells preserve lineage traits, respective of normal ductal or acinar pancreatic cells. Moreover, ductal-derived Kras G12D/Trp53 -/- mouse PDACs show higher expression of IFNsign compared with acinar-derived counterparts. Collectively, our data point to two different origins and etiologies of human PDACs, with the aggressive Methylationlow/IFNsignhigh subtype potentially targetable by agents blocking intrinsic IFN signaling. SIGNIFICANCE: The mutational landscapes of PDAC alone cannot explain the observed interpatient heterogeneity. We identified two PDAC subtypes characterized by differential DNA methylation, preserving traits from normal ductal/acinar cells associated with IFN signaling. Our work suggests that epigenetic traits and the cell of origin contribute to PDAC heterogeneity.This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 521.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Espinet
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany. .,Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Zuguang Gu
- Bioinformatics and Omics Data Analytics, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany.,Heidelberg Center for Personalized Oncology (DKFZ-HIPO), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Charles D Imbusch
- Division of Applied Bioinformatics, DKFZ and NCT, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Nathalia A Giese
- Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Magdalena Büscher
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mariam Safavi
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Silke Weisenburger
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Corinna Klein
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Vanessa Vogel
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mattia Falcone
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jacob Insua-Rodríguez
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Manuel Reitberger
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Vera Thiel
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Steffi O Kossi
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Karnjit Sarai
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Science Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Alex Y L Lee
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Science Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Elyne Backx
- Laboratory of Molecular and Medical Oncology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Soheila Zarei
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Science Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Matthias M Gaida
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.,Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center JGU Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Elisa Donato
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Hsi-Yu Yen
- Institute of Pathology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Roland Eils
- Heidelberg Center for Personalized Oncology (DKFZ-HIPO), Heidelberg, Germany.,Digital Health Centre, Berlin Institute of Health and Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Health Data Science Unit, University Hospital and University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Nicole Pfarr
- Institute of Pathology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Thilo Hackert
- Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Benedikt Brors
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Applied Bioinformatics, DKFZ and NCT, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katja Steiger
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany.,Institute of Pathology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Dieter Weichenhan
- Heidelberg Center for Personalized Oncology (DKFZ-HIPO), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - H Efsun Arda
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, Center of Cancer Research, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Ilse Rooman
- Laboratory of Molecular and Medical Oncology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Janel L Kopp
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Science Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Oliver Strobel
- Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.,National Center of Tumor Diseases, NCT, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Wilko Weichert
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany.,Institute of Pathology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Martin R Sprick
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Andreas Trumpp
- HI-STEM-Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany. .,Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
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20
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Abstract
Background Pancreatic Islets of Langerhans are heterogeneous tissues consisting of multiple endocrine cell types that carry out distinct yet coordinated roles to regulate blood glucose homeostasis. Islet dysfunction and specifically failure of the beta cells to secrete adequate insulin are known precursors to type 2 diabetes (T2D) onset. However, the exact genetic, (epi)genomic, and environmental mechanisms that contribute to islet failure, and ultimately to T2D pathogenesis, require further elucidation. Scope of review This review summarizes efforts and advances in dissection of the complex genetic underpinnings of islet function and resilience in T2D pathogenesis. In this review, we will highlight results of the latest T2D genome-wide association study (GWAS) and discuss how these data are being combined with clinical measures in patients to uncover putative T2D subtypes and with functional (epi)genomic studies in islets to understand the genetic programming of islet cell identity, function, and adaptation. Finally, we discuss new and important opportunities to address major knowledge gaps in our understanding of islet (dys)function in T2D risk and progression. Major conclusions Genetic variation exerts clear effects on the islet epigenome, regulatory element usage, and gene expression. Future (epi)genomic comparative analyses between T2D and normal islets should incorporate genetics to distinguish patient-specific from disease-specific differences. Incorporating genotype information into future analyses and studies will also enable more precise insights into the molecular genetics of islet deficiency and failure in T2D risk, and should ultimately contribute to a stratified view of T2D and more precise treatment strategies. Islet cellular heterogeneity continues to remain a challenge for understanding the associations between islet failure and T2D development. Further efforts to obtain purified islet cell type populations and determine the specific genetic and environmental effects on each will help address this. Beyond observation of islets at steady state conditions, more research of islet stress and stimulation responses are needed to understand the transition of these tissues from a healthy to diseased state. Together, focusing on these objectives will provide more opportunities to prevent, treat, and manage T2D.
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21
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Tellez K, Hang Y, Gu X, Chang CA, Stein RW, Kim SK. In vivo studies of glucagon secretion by human islets transplanted in mice. Nat Metab 2020; 2:547-557. [PMID: 32694729 PMCID: PMC7739959 DOI: 10.1038/s42255-020-0213-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about regulated glucagon secretion by human islet α-cells compared to insulin secretion from β-cells, despite conclusive evidence of dysfunction in both cell types in diabetes mellitus. Distinct insulins in humans and mice permit in vivo studies of human β-cell regulation after human islet transplantation in immunocompromised mice, whereas identical glucagon sequences prevent analogous in vivo measures of glucagon output from human α-cells. Here, we use CRISPR-Cas9 editing to remove glucagon codons 2-29 in immunocompromised NSG mice, preserving the production of other proglucagon-derived hormones. Glucagon knockout NSG (GKO-NSG) mice have metabolic, liver and pancreatic phenotypes associated with glucagon-signalling deficits that revert after transplantation of human islets from non-diabetic donors. Glucagon hypersecretion by transplanted islets from donors with type 2 diabetes revealed islet-intrinsic defects. We suggest that GKO-NSG mice provide an unprecedented resource to investigate human α-cell regulation in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krissie Tellez
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Yan Hang
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Diabetes Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Xueying Gu
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Charles A Chang
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Roland W Stein
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Seung K Kim
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Stanford Diabetes Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Department of Medicine (Endocrinology Division), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
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22
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Are Parallel Proliferation Pathways Redundant? Trends Biochem Sci 2020; 45:554-563. [PMID: 32345469 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2020.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Are the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) and JAK-STAT-driven proliferation pathways 'parallel' or 'redundant'? And what about those of K-Ras4B versus N-Ras? 'Parallel' proliferation pathways accomplish a similar drug resistance outcome. Thus, are they 'redundant'? In this paper, it is argued that there is a fundamental distinction between 'parallel' and 'redundant'. Cellular proliferation pathways are influenced by the genome sequence, 3D organization and chromatin accessibility, and determined by protein availability prior to cancer emergence. In the opinion presented, if they operate the same downstream protein families, they are redundant; if evolutionary-independent, they are parallel. Thus, RTK and JAK-STAT-driven proliferation pathways are parallel; those of Ras isoforms are redundant. Our Precision Medicine Call to map cancer proliferation pathways is vastly important since it can expedite effective therapeutics.
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23
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Kim S, Whitener RL, Peiris H, Gu X, Chang CA, Lam JY, Camunas-Soler J, Park I, Bevacqua RJ, Tellez K, Quake SR, Lakey JRT, Bottino R, Ross PJ, Kim SK. Molecular and genetic regulation of pig pancreatic islet cell development. Development 2020; 147:dev186213. [PMID: 32108026 PMCID: PMC7132804 DOI: 10.1242/dev.186213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Reliance on rodents for understanding pancreatic genetics, development and islet function could limit progress in developing interventions for human diseases such as diabetes mellitus. Similarities of pancreas morphology and function suggest that porcine and human pancreas developmental biology may have useful homologies. However, little is known about pig pancreas development. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated fetal and neonatal pig pancreas at multiple, crucial developmental stages using modern experimental approaches. Purification of islet β-, α- and δ-cells followed by transcriptome analysis (RNA-seq) and immunohistology identified cell- and stage-specific regulation, and revealed that pig and human islet cells share characteristic features that are not observed in mice. Morphometric analysis also revealed endocrine cell allocation and architectural similarities between pig and human islets. Our analysis unveiled scores of signaling pathways linked to native islet β-cell functional maturation, including evidence of fetal α-cell GLP-1 production and signaling to β-cells. Thus, the findings and resources detailed here show how pig pancreatic islet studies complement other systems for understanding the developmental programs that generate functional islet cells, and that are relevant to human pancreatic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seokho Kim
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Robert L Whitener
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Heshan Peiris
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Xueying Gu
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Charles A Chang
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Jonathan Y Lam
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Joan Camunas-Soler
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Insung Park
- Department of Animal Science, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Romina J Bevacqua
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Krissie Tellez
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Stephen R Quake
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94518, USA
| | - Jonathan R T Lakey
- Department of Surgery, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 92868, USA
| | - Rita Bottino
- Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, USA
| | - Pablo J Ross
- Department of Animal Science, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Seung K Kim
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Stanford Diabetes Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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24
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Rai V, Quang DX, Erdos MR, Cusanovich DA, Daza RM, Narisu N, Zou LS, Didion JP, Guan Y, Shendure J, Parker SCJ, Collins FS. Single-cell ATAC-Seq in human pancreatic islets and deep learning upscaling of rare cells reveals cell-specific type 2 diabetes regulatory signatures. Mol Metab 2020; 32:109-121. [PMID: 32029221 PMCID: PMC6961712 DOI: 10.1016/j.molmet.2019.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a complex disease characterized by pancreatic islet dysfunction, insulin resistance, and disruption of blood glucose levels. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified > 400 independent signals that encode genetic predisposition. More than 90% of associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) localize to non-coding regions and are enriched in chromatin-defined islet enhancer elements, indicating a strong transcriptional regulatory component to disease susceptibility. Pancreatic islets are a mixture of cell types that express distinct hormonal programs, so each cell type may contribute differentially to the underlying regulatory processes that modulate T2D-associated transcriptional circuits. Existing chromatin profiling methods such as ATAC-seq and DNase-seq, applied to islets in bulk, produce aggregate profiles that mask important cellular and regulatory heterogeneity. METHODS We present genome-wide single-cell chromatin accessibility profiles in >1,600 cells derived from a human pancreatic islet sample using single-cell combinatorial indexing ATAC-seq (sci-ATAC-seq). We also developed a deep learning model based on U-Net architecture to accurately predict open chromatin peak calls in rare cell populations. RESULTS We show that sci-ATAC-seq profiles allow us to deconvolve alpha, beta, and delta cell populations and identify cell-type-specific regulatory signatures underlying T2D. Particularly, T2D GWAS SNPs are significantly enriched in beta cell-specific and across cell-type shared islet open chromatin, but not in alpha or delta cell-specific open chromatin. We also demonstrate, using less abundant delta cells, that deep learning models can improve signal recovery and feature reconstruction of rarer cell populations. Finally, we use co-accessibility measures to nominate the cell-specific target genes at 104 non-coding T2D GWAS signals. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, we identify the islet cell type of action across genetic signals of T2D predisposition and provide higher-resolution mechanistic insights into genetically encoded risk pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivek Rai
- Department of Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Daniel X Quang
- Department of Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Michael R Erdos
- National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Darren A Cusanovich
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Riza M Daza
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Narisu Narisu
- National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Luli S Zou
- National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - John P Didion
- National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Yuanfang Guan
- Department of Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Jay Shendure
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Stephen C J Parker
- Department of Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA; Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
| | - Francis S Collins
- National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
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25
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Common genetic variants that associate with type 2 diabetes risk are markedly enriched in pancreatic islet transcriptional enhancers. This review discusses current advances in the annotation of islet enhancer variants and their target genes. RECENT FINDINGS Recent methodological advances now allow genetic and functional mapping of diabetes causal variants at unprecedented resolution. Mapping of enhancer-promoter interactions in human islets has provided a unique appreciation of the complexity of islet gene regulatory processes and enabled direct association of noncoding diabetes risk variants to their target genes. The recently improved human islet enhancer annotations constitute a framework for the interpretation of diabetes genetic signals in the context of pancreatic islet gene regulation. In the future, integration of existing and yet to come regulatory maps with genetic fine-mapping efforts and in-depth functional characterization will foster the discovery of novel diabetes molecular risk mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inês Cebola
- Section of Genetics and Genomics, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Campus, ICTEM 5th floor, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK.
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26
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Cejas P, Drier Y, Dreijerink KMA, Brosens LAA, Deshpande V, Epstein CB, Conemans EB, Morsink FHM, Graham MK, Valk GD, Vriens MR, Castillo CFD, Ferrone CR, Adar T, Bowden M, Whitton HJ, Da Silva A, Font-Tello A, Long HW, Gaskell E, Shoresh N, Heaphy CM, Sicinska E, Kulke MH, Chung DC, Bernstein BE, Shivdasani RA. Enhancer signatures stratify and predict outcomes of non-functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Nat Med 2019; 25:1260-1265. [PMID: 31263286 PMCID: PMC6919319 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-019-0493-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Most pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) do not produce excess hormones and are therefore considered 'non-functional'1-3. As clinical behaviors vary widely and distant metastases are eventually lethal2,4, biological classifications might guide treatment. Using enhancer maps to infer gene regulatory programs, we find that non-functional PNETs fall into two major subtypes, with epigenomes and transcriptomes that partially resemble islet α- and β-cells. Transcription factors ARX and PDX1 specify these normal cells, respectively5,6, and 84% of 142 non-functional PNETs expressed one or the other factor, occasionally both. Among 103 cases, distant relapses occurred almost exclusively in patients with ARX+PDX1- tumors and, within this subtype, in cases with alternative lengthening of telomeres. These markedly different outcomes belied similar clinical presentations and histology and, in one cohort, occurred irrespective of MEN1 mutation. This robust molecular stratification provides insight into cell lineage correlates of non-functional PNETs, accurately predicts disease course and can inform postoperative clinical decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paloma Cejas
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.,Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.,Translational Oncology Laboratory, Hospital La Paz Institute for Health Research, Madrid, Spain
| | - Yotam Drier
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA. .,Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. .,Lautenberg Center for Immunology and Cancer Research, Hebrew University, Faculty of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Koen M A Dreijerink
- Department of Endocrine Oncology, UMC Utrecht Cancer Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands.,Department of Internal Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Vikram Deshpande
- Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Elfi B Conemans
- Department of Endocrine Oncology, UMC Utrecht Cancer Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands.,Department of Internal Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Folkert H M Morsink
- Department of Pathology, UMC Utrecht Cancer Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Mindy K Graham
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Gerlof D Valk
- Department of Endocrine Oncology, UMC Utrecht Cancer Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Menno R Vriens
- Department of Surgical Oncology, UMC Utrecht Cancer Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | | | - Cristina R Ferrone
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tomer Adar
- Department of Gastroenterology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michaela Bowden
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Alba Font-Tello
- Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Henry W Long
- Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Noam Shoresh
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Christopher M Heaphy
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ewa Sicinska
- Department of Oncologic Pathology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Matthew H Kulke
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.,Departments of Medicine, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Daniel C Chung
- Department of Gastroenterology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bradley E Bernstein
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA. .,Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Ramesh A Shivdasani
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA. .,Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA. .,Departments of Medicine, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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