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Uncoupling of gene expression from copy number presents therapeutic opportunities in aneuploid cancers

Vakul Mohanty1, Fang Wang1, Gordon B Mills2

  • 1Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

Cell Reports. Medicine
|August 2, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Uncoupling of mRNA expression from copy number (UECN) helps cancer cells survive high aneuploidy. This study reveals UECN is common, linked to tumor growth and immune evasion, and offers potential therapeutic targets.

Area of Science:

  • Cancer Biology
  • Genomics
  • Systems Biology

Background:

  • Aneuploidy, an abnormal chromosome number, is common in cancer.
  • Uncoupling of mRNA expression from copy number (UECN) may allow cancer cells to tolerate aneuploidy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence and role of UECN across various cancer types.
  • To identify regulatory mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets for UECN.

Main Methods:

  • Integrative multiomic analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset (∼5,000 tumors).
  • Development of a systems-biology approach to identify candidate transcription factors (TFs).

Main Results:

  • UECN is a common phenomenon in cancer.
  • UECN correlates with increased oncogenic signaling, proliferation, and immune suppression.
  • Identified 21 putative TF targets, with 42.8% validated by independent sources.

Conclusions:

  • UECN is a significant mechanism in the development of aneuploid tumors.
  • Targeting TFs involved in UECN may offer a therapeutic strategy to reduce tumor fitness.
Keywords:
CNVsTCGAaneuploidycancer biologyimmune evasiontarget discoverytranscriptional regulation

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