Scientific article
Letter
English

Polymer physics predicts the effects of structural variants on chromatin architecture

Published inNature Genetics, vol. 50, no. 5, p. 662-667
Publication date2018
Abstract

Structural variants (SVs) can result in changes in gene expression due to abnormal chromatin folding and cause disease. However, the prediction of such effects remains a challenge. Here we present a polymer-physics-based approach (PRISMR) to model 3D chromatin folding and to predict enhancer-promoter contacts. PRISMR predicts higher-order chromatin structure from genome-wide chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) data. Using the EPHA4 locus as a model, the effects of pathogenic SVs are predicted in silico and compared to Hi-C data generated from mouse limb buds and patient-derived fibroblasts. PRISMR deconvolves the folding complexity of the EPHA4 locus and identifies SV-induced ectopic contacts and alterations of 3D genome organization in homozygous or heterozygous states. We show that SVs can reconfigure topologically associating domains, thereby producing extensive rewiring of regulatory interactions and causing disease by gene misexpression. PRISMR can be used to predict interactions in silico, thereby providing a tool for analyzing the disease-causing potential of SVs.

Affiliation entities Not a UNIGE publication
Citation (ISO format)
BIANCO, Simona et al. Polymer physics predicts the effects of structural variants on chromatin architecture. In: Nature Genetics, 2018, vol. 50, n° 5, p. 662–667. doi: 10.1038/s41588-018-0098-8
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
accessLevelRestricted
Identifiers
ISSN of the journal1061-4036
408views
0downloads

Technical informations

Creation04/04/2019 16:50:00
First validation04/04/2019 16:50:00
Update time15/03/2023 16:25:17
Status update15/03/2023 16:25:16
Last indexation02/10/2024 19:50:38
All rights reserved by Archive ouverte UNIGE and the University of GenevaunigeBlack