Condensate-Driven Transcriptional Reprogramming Defines Core Vulnerabilities in Esophageal and Gastric Cancers
Alvarez-Carrion, L.; R. Tejedor, A.; Ardura, J. A.; Alonso, V.; Alonso-Moreno, C.; Collepardo-Guevara, R.; Gutierrez-Rojas, I.; Privat, C.; Moreno, V.; Calvo, E.; Gyorffy, B.; Espinosa, J. R.; Ocana, A.
Show abstract
Biomolecular condensates organize key nuclear functions by compartmentalizing biomolecules, yet their contribution to gastrointestinal tumorigenesis remains poorly defined. Integrating multi-omics profiling, functional genomics, and molecular dynamics simulations, we reveal that esophageal and gastric cancers share a condensate-enriched transcriptional program driven by intrinsically disordered proteins involved in transcription, RNA processing, and replication stress. Transcriptomic analyses identify a hyperactive transcriptional state with upregulation of condensate-associated genes, including TOPBP1 and CHERP. Dependency mapping demonstrates that these proteins are essential for tumor cell viability, defining a conserved condensate core across different tumor types. Machine-learned predictions and residue-resolution coarse-grained simulations confirm that TOPBP1 and CHERP undergo phase separation through homotypic interactions mediated by intrinsically disordered regions, with saturation concentrations below 2 {micro}M, consistent with spontaneous condensate formation observed in vitro. Together, these findings establish condensate organization as a fundamental mesoscale principle in upper gastrointestinal cancers and nominate condensate scaffolds as tractable therapeutic vulnerabilities.
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