Epigenetic regulation of transcription plays a crucial role in lineage commitment of embryonic stem cells. Promoters of key lineage-specific differentiation genes are found in a repressed bivalent state, having both activating H3K4me3 and repressive H3K27me3 histone marks, making them poised for transcription upon loss of H3K27me3 in response to environmental cues. Whether the tumour-initiating, self-renewing, cancer-initiating cells (C-ICs) have similar epigenetic regulatory mechanism that prevent lineage commitment is unknown. In order to investigate bivalently marked and repressed promoters, we used a patient-derived CC-IC enriched model to identify the changes in transcriptome following inhibition of EZH2, the H3K27 methyltransferase. We also performed ChIP-seq for H3K27me3 and H3K4me3 at baseline in order to identify repressed and bivalently marked promoters.

Epigenetic regulation of transcription plays a crucial role in lineage commitment of embryonic stem cells. Promoters of key lineage-specific differentiation genes are found in a repressed bivalent state, having both activating H3K4me3 and repressive H3K27me3 histone marks, making them poised for transcription upon loss of H3K27me3 in response to environmental cues. Whether the tumour-initiating, self-renewing, cancer-initiating cells (C-ICs) have similar epigenetic regulatory mechanism that prevent lineage commitment is unknown. In order to investigate bivalently marked and repressed promoters, we used a patient-derived CC-IC enriched model to identify the changes in transcriptome following inhibition of EZH2, the H3K27 methyltransferase. We also performed ChIP-seq for H3K27me3 and H3K4me3 at baseline in order to identify repressed and bivalently marked promoters.

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