Chromatin Organization Governs Transcriptional Response and Plasticity of Cancer Stem Cells.

Chromatin organization regulates transcription to influence cellular plasticity and cell fate. We explored whether chromatin nanoscale packing domains are involved in stemness and response to chemotherapy. Using an optical spectroscopic nanosensing technology we show that ovarian cancer-derived cancer stem cells (CSCs) display upregulation of nanoscale chromatin packing domains compared to non-CSCs.

Leveraging chromatin packing domains to target chemoevasion .

Cancer cells exhibit a remarkable resilience to cytotoxic stress, often adapting through transcriptional changes linked to alterations in chromatin structure. In several types of cancer, these adaptations involve epigenetic modifications and restructuring of topologically associating domains (TADs). However, the underlying principles by which chromatin architecture facilitates such adaptability across different cancers remain poorly understood.