Britney Jiayu He

The paper shows TEAD1 forms transcriptionally inactive condensates in cancer cell pericentromeric heterochromatin, acting as storage sites and influencing YAP/TEAD target gene expression.

A genome-wide plasmid screen, Retain-seq, identifies thousands of CpG-rich promoter-like human elements that tether episomes to mitotic chromosomes, shape ecDNA structure, and lose function when methylated.

The paper identifies enhancer-like elements on ecDNA in colorectal cancer that are derived from transposable elements and are functionally active in cancer cell fitness.

This study shows that multiple extrachromosomal DNA species are coordinately inherited in cancer cells through mitotic co-segregation, enabling oncogene cooperation and guiding therapeutic strategies.