G-Quadruplex Structures Are Key Modulators of Somatic Structural Variants in Cancers

G-quadruplexes (G4) are noncanonical secondary genome structures. Aberrant formation of G4s can impair genome integrity. Investigation of the relationship between G4s and somatic structural variants (SV) in cancers could provide a better understanding of the role of G4 formation in cancer development and progression. In this study, we combined bioinformatic approaches and multiomics data to investigate the connection between G4s and the somatic SVs. Somatic SV breakpoints were significantly enriched in G4 regions, regardless of SV subtypes. This enrichment was only observed in regions demonstrated to form G4s in cells ("active quadruplexes"), rather than in regions with a sequence compatible with G4 formation but without confirmed G4 formation ("potential quadruplexes"). Several genomic features affected the connection between G4s and SVs, with the enrichment being notably strengthened at the boundary of topologically associated domains. Somatic breakpoints were also preferentially associated with G4 regions with earlier replication timing and open chromatin status. In patients with cancer with homologous recombination repair defects, G4s and somatic breakpoints were substantially more strongly associated. Machine learning models were constructed that showed that G4 propensity is a potent feature for predicting the density of SV breakpoints. Altogether, these findings suggest that the G4 structures play a critical role in modulating the production of somatic SVs in cancers.

G-quadruplex structure formation constitutes a critical step in the production of somatic structural variants in cancers, suggesting G-quadruplex structures as potential targets for future cancer prevention and treatment strategies.