ARID1A loss impairs enhancer-mediated gene regulation and drives colon cancer in mice [HCT116_ChIP-seq]

Genes encoding subunits of SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes are collectively mutated in ~20% of all human cancers. Although ARID1A is the most frequent target of mutations, the mechanism by which its inactivation promotes tumorigenesis is unclear. Here, we demonstrate that Arid1a functions as a tumor suppressor in the mouse colon, but not the small intestine, and that invasive ARID1A-deficient adenocarcinomas resemble human colorectal cancer (CRC). These tumors lack deregulation of APC/beta-catenin, crucial gatekeepers in common forms of intestinal cancer. ARID1A normally targets SWI/SNF complexes to enhancers, where they function in coordination with transcription factors (TFs) to facilitate gene activation. ARID1B preserves SWI/SNF function in ARID1A-deficient cells, but defects in SWI/SNF targeting and control of enhancer activity cause extensive dysregulation of gene expression. These findings represent an advance in colon cancer modeling and implicate enhancer-mediated gene regulation as a principal tumor suppressor function of ARID1A. ChIP-seq of three histone modifications (H3K27ac, H3K4m3, H3K4me1) and two SWI/SNF complex subunits (SMARCA4 and SMARCC1) in HCT116 colorectal cancer line for ARID1A WT and KO cells.