Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42487124›Full record

ArticleGenome biology2026

Decoding 3D chromatin architecture reveals distinct enhancer classes underlying hierarchical gene regulation in prostate cancer.

Huan Cao, Zexun Wu, Baixi Ji, Seolyn Yang, Leonardo Gonzalez-Smith, Andrew Vu, Suhn K Rhie

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Genome biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Huan CaoDepartment of Cancer Biology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
Zexun WuDepartment of Cancer Biology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
Baixi JiDepartment of Cancer Biology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
Seolyn YangDepartment of Cancer Biology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
Leonardo Gonzalez-SmithDepartment of Cancer Biology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
Andrew VuDepartment of Cancer Biology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
Suhn K RhieDepartment of Cancer Biology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA. rhie@usc.edu.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5522-5296

Funding

Reversing molecular cancer phenotypes by targeting epigenetic alterations in prostate cancerR21CA260082 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI RHIE, SUHN KYONG · 2021 to 2021
$386k
NCI NIH HHS R21 CA260082NIH HHS R21CA260082U.S. Department of Defense W81XWH-21-1-0805
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe transcription process is controlled by non-coding regulatory elements, more than 70% of which are putative enhancers. These enhancers comprise over 600,000 regions and are marked by histone modifications. However, the mechanisms by which altered enhancers in cancer cooperate within the three-dimensional chromatin architecture to drive oncogenic programs remain poorly understood.

resultsBy integrating 201 H3K27ac ChIP-seq datasets from prostate, we identify 3,216 high-confidence prostate cancer-specific putative enhancers. Ultra-high-resolution chromatin interaction profiling by Region Capture Micro-C at a representative chr6q24.1 locus reveals that these enhancers form cancer-specific, highly nested interactions with promoters that coalesce into a multi-connected hub absent in normal prostate cells. CRISPR/Cas9 perturbations of these enhancers, examined one by one, distinguish enhancer classes within the hub. Deletion of a central enhancer collapses hub-wide enhancer activities and architecture, leading to the downregulation of target genes, impaired proliferation, and reduced clonogenic growth. In contrast, deletion of a redundant enhancer results in minimal transcriptional changes, as neighboring enhancers rescue cancer signaling through compensatory architectural rewiring that strengthens alternative enhancer-promoter interactions. We also observe that FOXA1, a pioneer transcription factor activated in prostate cancer, directly binds to these enhancers and regulates distinct enhancer classes, leading to varying degrees of chromatin accessibility and gene expression changes.

conclusionsThese findings suggest that enhancers function in a coordinated manner, forming multi-connected cancer-specific chromatin interaction hubs, with distinct enhancer classes contributing differently to gene regulation. This study advances our ability to modulate gene expression in a cell type-specific manner, opening new avenues for precision therapies.

Indexed as

ChromatinEnhancer Elements, GeneticGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticProstatic NeoplasmsCell Line, TumorHepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-alphaHistonesHumansMalePromoter Regions, GeneticChromatinHepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-alphaHistones3D genomicsChromatin interactionsEnhancerEnhancer classesEnhancer-promoter hubsEpigeneticsGene regulationPromoterProstate cancerTranscription factor

Identifiers

PMID42487124
PMCPMC13393805

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.