Preliminary analysis of chromatin accessibility in osteosarcoma tissues

Osteosarcoma (OS) is highly invasive, metastatic, and lacks effective therapies, leading to poor prognosis. This study aims to dissect the core epigenetic features of OS from the perspective of chromatin accessibility to elucidate its pathogenesis and identify novel therapeutic targets. ATAC-seq was used to map the global chromatin accessibility profiles of OS tissues versus normal controls. We identified OS-specific aberrantly accessible chromatin regions and delineated enriched transcription factor binding motifs. Key transcription factors were validated by Western blotting and flow cytometry. Notably, in regions with enhanced accessibility, the binding probability of AP-1 family members (including Atf3, Fra1, Fra2, JunB, BATF, AP-1, Jun-AP1, Bach2, and CTCF) was significantly elevated. Further analysis indicates that JunB can inhibit apoptosis of OS cells and enhance their invasive ability, suggesting that it may be related to tumor progression. Overall, JunB, as a candidate molecule with potential research value, is worthy of further verification in subsequent in vivo models and clinical samples to determine its feasibility as an intervention target for OS.