Caterina Colon

All Publications

• Targeted profiling of human extrachromosomal DNA by CRISPR-CATCH. Nature genetics Hung, K. L., Luebeck, J., Dehkordi, S. R., Colon, C. I., Li, R., Wong, I. T., Coruh, C., Dharanipragada, P., Lomeli, S. H., Weiser, N. E., Moriceau, G., Zhang, X., Bailey, C., Houlahan, K. E., Yang, W., Gonzalez, R. C., Swanton, C., Curtis, C., Jamal-Hanjani, M., Henssen, A. G., Law, J. A., Greenleaf, W. J., Lo, R. S., Mischel, P. S., Bafna, V., Chang, H. Y. 2022

  Abstract

  Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) is a common mode of oncogene amplification but is challenging to analyze. Here, we adapt CRISPR-CATCH, in vitro CRISPR-Cas9 treatment and pulsed field gel electrophoresis of agarose-entrapped genomic DNA, previously developed for bacterial chromosome segments, to isolate megabase-sized human ecDNAs. We demonstrate strong enrichment of ecDNA molecules containing EGFR, FGFR2 and MYC from human cancer cells and NRAS ecDNA from human metastatic melanoma with acquired therapeutic resistance. Targeted enrichment of ecDNA versus chromosomal DNA enabled phasing of genetic variants, identified the presence of an EGFRvIII mutation exclusively on ecDNAs and supported an excision model of ecDNA genesis in a glioblastoma model. CRISPR-CATCH followed by nanopore sequencing enabled single-molecule ecDNA methylation profiling and revealed hypomethylation of the EGFR promoter on ecDNAs. We distinguished heterogeneous ecDNA species within the same sample by size and sequence with base-pair resolution and discovered functionally specialized ecDNAs that amplify select enhancers or oncogene-coding sequences.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41588-022-01190-0

  View details for PubMedID 36253572

• Combinatorial Inactivation of Tumor Suppressors Efficiently Initiates Lung Adenocarcinoma with Therapeutic Vulnerabilities. Cancer research Yousefi, M., Boross, G., Weiss, C., Murray, C. W., Hebert, J. D., Cai, H., Ashkin, E. L., Karmakar, S., Andrejka, L., Chen, L., Wang, M., Tsai, M. K., Lin, W., Li, C., Yakhchalian, P., Colon, C. I., Chew, S., Chu, P., Swanton, C., Kunder, C. A., Petrov, D. A., Winslow, M. M. 2022; 82 (8): 1589-1602

  Abstract

  Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, with lung adenocarcinoma being the most common subtype. Many oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes are altered in this cancer type, and the discovery of oncogene mutations has led to the development of targeted therapies that have improved clinical outcomes. However, a large fraction of lung adenocarcinomas lacks mutations in known oncogenes, and the genesis and treatment of these oncogene-negative tumors remain enigmatic. Here, we perform iterative in vivo functional screens using quantitative autochthonous mouse model systems to uncover the genetic and biochemical changes that enable efficient lung tumor initiation in the absence of oncogene alterations. Generation of hundreds of diverse combinations of tumor suppressor alterations demonstrates that inactivation of suppressors of the RAS and PI3K pathways drives the development of oncogene-negative lung adenocarcinoma. Human genomic data and histology identified RAS/MAPK and PI3K pathway activation as a common feature of an event in oncogene-negative human lung adenocarcinomas. These Onc-negativeRAS/PI3K tumors and related cell lines are vulnerable to pharmacologic inhibition of these signaling axes. These results transform our understanding of this prevalent yet understudied subtype of lung adenocarcinoma.SIGNIFICANCE: To address the large fraction of lung adenocarcinomas lacking mutations in proto-oncogenes for which targeted therapies are unavailable, this work uncovers driver pathways of oncogene-negative lung adenocarcinomas and demonstrates their therapeutic vulnerabilities.

  View details for DOI 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-22-0059

  View details for PubMedID 35425962