[HTML][HTML] Chromatin accessibility maps of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia identify subtype-specific epigenome signatures and transcription regulatory networks

AF Rendeiro, C Schmidl, JC Strefford… - Nature …, 2016 - nature.com
AF Rendeiro, C Schmidl, JC Strefford, R Walewska, Z Davis, M Farlik, D Oscier, C Bock
Nature communications, 2016nature.com
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is characterized by substantial clinical heterogeneity,
despite relatively few genetic alterations. To provide a basis for studying epigenome
deregulation in CLL, here we present genome-wide chromatin accessibility maps for 88 CLL
samples from 55 patients measured by the ATAC-seq assay. We also performed
ChIPmentation and RNA-seq profiling for ten representative samples. Based on the resulting
data set, we devised and applied a bioinformatic method that links chromatin profiles to …
Abstract
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is characterized by substantial clinical heterogeneity, despite relatively few genetic alterations. To provide a basis for studying epigenome deregulation in CLL, here we present genome-wide chromatin accessibility maps for 88 CLL samples from 55 patients measured by the ATAC-seq assay. We also performed ChIPmentation and RNA-seq profiling for ten representative samples. Based on the resulting data set, we devised and applied a bioinformatic method that links chromatin profiles to clinical annotations. Our analysis identified sample-specific variation on top of a shared core of CLL regulatory regions. IGHV mutation status—which distinguishes the two major subtypes of CLL—was accurately predicted by the chromatin profiles and gene regulatory networks inferred for IGHV-mutated versus IGHV-unmutated samples identified characteristic differences between these two disease subtypes. In summary, we discovered widespread heterogeneity in the chromatin landscape of CLL, established a community resource for studying epigenome deregulation in leukaemia and demonstrated the feasibility of large-scale chromatin accessibility mapping in cancer cohorts and clinical research.
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