One hour of 200 mM sorbitol collapses most chromatin loops in human cells while several hundred transient, cohesin-dependent, CTCF-independent loops form at active promoters, preceding anchor-gene activation.

bioRxiv · Oct 9, 2026 · PreprintGenomics✦ In-depth digest

Aberrant chromatin looping by NUP98-HOXA9 is constrained by CTCF and facilitated by cohesin

Tooba Rashid, Zachary Drum, Ivana Yoseli Quiroga, Doris Cruz Alonso, Gelila Petros, Eric Davis, Benjamin Kornegay, Chelsea Yang, Chenxi Xu, Sylvie M. Parkus, Gang Greg Wang, Wesley R. Legant, Jill M. Dowen, Douglas H. Phanstiel

This study investigates how NUP98-HOXA9 drives aberrant chromatin looping in AML by interacting with CTCF and cohesin, revealing a non-canonical mechanism involving phase separation and loop extrusion.

bioRxiv · Jun 23, 2026 · PreprintMolecular Biology

YY1 relieves p300 autoinhibition to promote histone acetylation in advanced prostate cancer, enhancing the oncogenic signaling of Androgen Receptor Splice Variant 7

Chenxi Xu, Dongyu Wu, Bo Pan, Xiaoxiao Ren, Samuel G. Mackintosh, Kanishk Jain, Natarajan V. Bhanu, Ricky D. Edmondson, Xin Liu, Benjamin Aaron Garcia, Alan J. Tackett, Jian Jun Jin, Gang Greg Wang, Ling Cai

This study shows YY1 enhances p300 acetyltransferase activity in CRPC, promoting histone acetylation and oncogenic gene expression, and identifies a potential therapeutic target for overcoming drug resistance.

bioRxiv · Aug 4, 2025 · PreprintCancer Biology

Epigenetic priming promotes acquisition of tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance and oncogene amplification in human lung cancer

Rebecca M. Starble, Eric G. Sun, Rana Gbyli, Jonathan S. D. Radda, Jiuwei Lu, Tyler B Jensen, Ning Sun, Nelli Khudaverdyan, Bomiao Hu, Mary Ann Melnick, Shuai Zhao, Nitin Roper, Gang Greg Wang, Jikui Song, Katerina A. Politi, , Andrew Xiao

The paper identifies METTL7A as a factor that promotes TKI resistance and oncogene amplification in lung cancer by remodeling chromatin structure before copy number gains.

bioRxiv · Jan 26, 2025 · PreprintGenetics

REPROGRAMMING CBX8-PRC1 FUNCTION WITH A POSITIVE ALLOSTERIC MODULATOR

Junghyun L. Suh, Daniel Bsteh, Bryce Hart, Yibo Si, Tyler Weaver, Carina Pribitzer, Roy Lau, Shivani Soni, Heather Anne N. Ogana, Justin M. Rectenwald, Jacqueline L. Norris, Stephanie H. Cholensky, Cari A. Sagum, Jessica M. Umana, Dongxu Li, , Oliver Bell

This paper identifies UNC7040 as a potent CBX8-specific positive allosteric modulator that disrupts PRC1 function and reduces cancer cell proliferation.

Cell chemical biology · Oct 28, 2021Peer-reviewedSynthetic Biology

Direct readout of heterochromatic H3K9me3 regulates DNMT1-mediated maintenance DNA methylation

Wendan Ren, Huitao Fan, Sara A. Grimm, Yiran Guo, Jae Jin Kim, Jiekai Yin, Linhui Li, Christopher J. Petell, Xiao-Feng Tan, Zhimin Zhang, John P. Coan, Linfeng Gao, Ling Cai, Brittany Detrick, Burak Çetin, , Jikui Song

This study identifies the RFTS domain of DNMT1 as a reader for H3K9me3/H3Ub, showing its role in DNA methylation maintenance and genomic stability.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · Jul 16, 2020Peer-reviewedGenetics

Comprehensive structure-function characterization of DNMT3B and DNMT3A reveals distinctive de novo DNA methylation mechanisms

Linfeng Gao, Max Emperle, Yiran Guo, Sara A. Grimm, Wendan Ren, Sabrina Adam, Hidetaka Uryu, Zhimin Zhang, Dongliang Chen, Jiekai Yin, Michael Dukatz, Hiwot Anteneh, Renata Zofia Jurkowska, Jiuwei Lu, Yinsheng Wang, , Jikui Song

This study characterizes the structure-function differences between DNMT3A and DNMT3B, revealing distinct mechanisms of de novo DNA methylation and their implications in epigenomic alterations.

Nature Communications · Jul 3, 2020Peer-reviewedGenetics