Spatiotemporal regulation of clonogenicity in colorectal cancer xenografts.

Cancer evolution is predominantly studied by focusing on differences in the genetic characteristics of malignant cells within tumors. However, the spatiotemporal dynamics of clonal outgrowth that underlie evolutionary trajectories remain largely unresolved. Here, we sought to unravel the clonal dynamics of colorectal cancer (CRC) expansion in space and time by using a color-based clonal tracing method. This method involves lentiviral red-green-blue (RGB) marking of cell populations, which enabled us to track individual cells and their clonal outgrowth during tumor initiation and growth in a xenograft model. We found that clonal expansion largely depends on the location of a clone, as small clones reside in the center and large clones mostly drive tumor growth at the border. These dynamics are recapitulated in a computational model, which confirms that the clone position within a tumor rather than cell-intrinsic features, is crucial for clonal outgrowth. We also found that no significant clonal loss occurs during tumor growth and clonal dispersal is limited in most models. Our results imply that, in addition to molecular features of clones such as (epi-)genetic differences between cells, clone location and the geometry of tumor growth are crucial for clonal expansion. Our findings suggest that either microenvironmental signals on the tumor border or differences in physical properties within the tumor, are major contributors to explain heterogeneous clonal expansion. Thus, this study provides further insights into the dynamics of solid tumor growth and progression, as well as the origins of tumor cell heterogeneity in a relevant model system.

The leukemic oncogene EVI1 hijacks a MYC super-enhancer by CTCF-facilitated loops.

Chromosomal rearrangements are a frequent cause of oncogene deregulation in human malignancies. Overexpression of EVI1 is found in a subgroup of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with 3q26 chromosomal rearrangements, which is often therapy resistant. In AMLs harboring a t(3;8)(q26;q24), we observed the translocation of a MYC super-enhancer (MYC SE) to the EVI1 locus. We generated an in vitro model mimicking a patient-based t(3;8)(q26;q24) using CRISPR-Cas9 technology and demonstrated hyperactivation of EVI1 by the hijacked MYC SE. This MYC SE contains multiple enhancer modules, of which only one recruits transcription factors active in early hematopoiesis. This enhancer module is critical for EVI1 overexpression as well as enhancer-promoter interaction. Multiple CTCF binding regions in the MYC SE facilitate this enhancer-promoter interaction, which also involves a CTCF binding site upstream of the EVI1 promoter. We hypothesize that this CTCF site acts as an enhancer-docking site in t(3;8) AML. Genomic analyses of other 3q26-rearranged AML patient cells point to a common mechanism by which EVI1 uses this docking site to hijack enhancers active in early hematopoiesis.