Inverted logic of ecDNA localization converts nuclear periphery into oncogenic transcription hubs in cancer.

Authors

Yanbo Wang, Xiaowei Yan, Natasha E Weiser, Ivy Tsz-Lo Wong, Shu Zhang, Yung-Hsin Huang, Rui Li, Katerina Kraft, Aditi Gnanasekar, Jun Tang, Cy Chittenden, Lotte Brückner, Imran Noorani, Charles Swanton, Anton G Henssen, Andrew B Stergachis, Nicolas Altemose, Howard Y Chang, Paul S Mischel

Published in

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology. Sep 17, 2026. Epub Sep 17, 2026.

Abstract

Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) is a major driver of cancer pathogenesis, however, its spatial organization in the nucleus is not currently understood. Here we show that ecDNAs, in contrast to chromosomal DNA, preferentially localize to the nuclear periphery yet resist peripheral gene silencing. Single-molecule multi-omic sequencing and imaging-based CRISPR screening demonstrate enhanced ecDNA hub formation, H3K27ac and H3K9me3 bivalency, late DNA replication, long-range CpG hypomethylation, and increased transcriptional output when ecDNAs localize to the nuclear periphery. EcDNA anchors to the nuclear lamina through H3K9me3-dependent interactions with the Lamin B Receptor (LBR), which if interrupted, results in inward migration of ecDNA particles, reduced ecDNA congregation, and decreased transcription of ecDNA-encoded genes. These results reveal inherent advantages of the spatial organization of ecDNA that are not available to chromosomal DNA, enhancing ecDNA congregation and amplifying oncogenic transcriptional output, by localizing to the nuclear periphery of cancer cells.

PMID:
42779618
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Sep 2026.

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