Harshabad Singh1, Kyungsik Ha2, Jason L Hornick3, Shariq Madha4, Paloma Cejas4, Kunal Jajoo5, Pratik Singh1, Paz Polak6, Hwajin Lee7, Ramesh A Shivdasani8. 1. Department of Medical Oncology and Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. 2. Biomedical Knowledge Engineering Laboratory, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. 3. Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. 4. Department of Medical Oncology and Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. 5. Department of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. 6. Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York. 7. Biomedical Knowledge Engineering Laboratory, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. Electronic address: hwajin2k@gmail.com. 8. Department of Medical Oncology and Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Electronic address: ramesh_shivdasani@dfci.harvard.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Tissue metaplasia is uncommon in adults because established cis-element programs resist rewiring. In Barrett's esophagus, the distal esophageal mucosa acquires a predominantly intestinal character, with notable gastric features, and is predisposed to developing invasive cancers. We sought to understand the chromatin underpinnings of Barrett's metaplasia and why it commonly displays simultaneous gastric and intestinal properties. METHODS: We profiled cis-regulatory elements with active histone modifications in primary human biopsy materials using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by DNA sequencing. Mutations in Barrett's esophagus were examined in relation to tissue-specific enhancer landscapes using a random forest machine-learning algorithm. We also profiled open chromatin at single-cell resolution in primary Barrett's biopsy specimens using the assay for transposase-accessible chromatin. We used 1- and 2-color immunohistochemistry to examine protein expression of tissue-restricted genes. RESULTS: Barrett's esophagus bears epigenome fingerprints of human stomach and intestinal columnar, but not esophageal squamous, epithelia. Mutational patterns were best explained as arising on the epigenome background of active gastric cis-elements, supporting the view that adjoining stomach epithelium is a likely tissue source. Individual cells in Barrett's metaplasia coexpress gastric and intestinal genes, reflecting concomitant chromatin access at enhancers ordinarily restricted to one or the other epithelium. Protein expression of stomach-specific mucins; CLDN18; and a novel gastric marker, ANXA10, showed extensive tissue and subclonal heterogeneity of dual stomach-intestinal cell states. CONCLUSIONS: These findings reveal mixed and dynamic tissue-restricted chromatin states and phenotypic heterogeneity in Barrett's esophagus. Pervasive intragland variation argues against stem-cell governance of this phenotype.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Tissue metaplasia is uncommon in adults because established cis-element programs resist rewiring. In Barrett's esophagus, the distal esophageal mucosa acquires a predominantly intestinal character, with notable gastric features, and is predisposed to developing invasive cancers. We sought to understand the chromatin underpinnings of Barrett's metaplasia and why it commonly displays simultaneous gastric and intestinal properties. METHODS: We profiled cis-regulatory elements with active histone modifications in primary human biopsy materials using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by DNA sequencing. Mutations in Barrett's esophagus were examined in relation to tissue-specific enhancer landscapes using a random forest machine-learning algorithm. We also profiled open chromatin at single-cell resolution in primary Barrett's biopsy specimens using the assay for transposase-accessible chromatin. We used 1- and 2-color immunohistochemistry to examine protein expression of tissue-restricted genes. RESULTS: Barrett's esophagus bears epigenome fingerprints of human stomach and intestinal columnar, but not esophageal squamous, epithelia. Mutational patterns were best explained as arising on the epigenome background of active gastric cis-elements, supporting the view that adjoining stomach epithelium is a likely tissue source. Individual cells in Barrett's metaplasia coexpress gastric and intestinal genes, reflecting concomitant chromatin access at enhancers ordinarily restricted to one or the other epithelium. Protein expression of stomach-specific mucins; CLDN18; and a novel gastric marker, ANXA10, showed extensive tissue and subclonal heterogeneity of dual stomach-intestinal cell states. CONCLUSIONS: These findings reveal mixed and dynamic tissue-restricted chromatin states and phenotypic heterogeneity in Barrett's esophagus. Pervasive intragland variation argues against stem-cell governance of this phenotype.
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