Integrative pan-cancer analysis reveals a common architecture of dysregulated transcriptional networks characterized by loss of enhancer methylation
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)(2023)
摘要
Aberrant DNA methylation contributes to gene expression deregulation in cancer. However, these alterations’ precise regulatory role and clinical implications are still not fully understood. In this study, we performed expression-methylation Quantitative Trait Loci (emQTL) analysis to identify deregulated cancer-driving transcriptional networks linked to CpG demethylation pan-cancer. By analyzing 33 cancer types from The Cancer Genome Atlas, we identified and confirmed significant correlations between CpG methylation and gene expression (emQTL) in cis and trans , both across and within cancer types. Bipartite network analysis of the emQTL revealed groups of CpGs and genes related to important biological processes involved in carcinogenesis; specifically, we identified three types of emQTL networks associated with alterations linked to the regulation of proliferation, metabolism, and hormone-signaling. These bipartite communities were characterized by loss of enhancer methylation in transcription factor binding regions (TFBRs) located in enhancers. The underlying CpGs were topologically linked to upregulated genes through chromatin loops. Loss of enhancer methylation and target genes were exemplified in pancreatic cancer. Penalized Cox regression analysis showed a significant prognostic impact of the pan-cancer emQTL. Taken together, our integrative pan-cancer analysis reveals a common architecture of aberrant DNA demethylation that illustrates a convergence of pathological regulatory mechanisms across cancer types.
### Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
* AR
: Androgen receptor
ASCAT
: Allele-Specific Copy Number Analysis of Tumors
BH
: Benjamini-Hochberg
BRCA
: Breast invasive carcinoma
ChIA-PET
: Chromatin Interaction Analysis with Paired-End Tag
dELS
: TSS-distal enhancer-like signatures
DNMT
: DNA methyltransferase
emQTL
: Expression-methylation Quantitative Trait Loci Analysis
ENCODE
: The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements
EMT
: epithelial-mesenchymal transition
ESR1
: Estrogen receptor alpha
FE
: Fold enrichment
FOXA1
: Forkhead Box A1
GATA
: GATA binding protein 2
GEO
: Gene Expression Omnibus
GSEA
: Gene set enrichment analysis
IM-PET
: Integrated Methods for Predicting Enhancer Targets
NCI
: National Cancer Institute
PAAD
: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma
PCA
: Principal component analysis
PC
: Principal component
PDAC
: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
pELS
: TSS-proximal enhancer-like signatures
PLS
: promoter-like signatures
TCGA
: The Cancer Genome Atlas
TET
: Ten-eleven translocation
TF
: Transcription factor
TFBR
: Transcription factor binding region
TFBS
: Transcription factor binding site
TME
: Tumor microenvironment
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关键词
transcriptional networks,methylation,pan-cancer
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