IFOM | Principal Investigator | Molecular Oncology and Immunology Lab, Full Professor, Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, ITALY
Wednesday 5 May 2021 |10:00 am – ICGEB Trieste, ITALY
Lost in Transcription: is Cancer an Epigenetic Disease?
Host: G. Del Sal
Epigenetic alterations and enhancers dysfunction characterize the aberrant transcriptional programs and dependencies that occur in tumors. Using a library of heterogenous patient-derived tumoral organoids, we provide an epigenomic landscape of human colorectal cancer, unveiling a deregulated cancer-cell intrinsic enhancerome. This cancer epigenetic rewiring distinguishes normal from malignant cells and is controlled by YAP/TAZ. The inhibition of these key transcriptional factors causes extensive tumoral cell death, revealing their essential role in tumor maintenance and providing new potential therapeutic avenues.