WNT/β-catenin increases 3D chromatin mobility and reorganisation during posterior cell state transitions
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Chromatin mobility, the exploration of 3D conformations by the chromatin fibre, is implicated in transcription and DNA repair, and is thought to decrease progressively as cells differentiate. Here, combining live-cell 3D single-nucleosome tracking with genomic approaches, we show that chromatin mobility instead changes in a cell-type-specific manner, increasing as pluripotent cells acquire posterior fates. This is accompanied by 3D genome reorganisation, including loss of Polycomb-associated interactions and emergence of CDX2-associated interactions. Withdrawal of posteriorising WNT/β-catenin signalling rapidly reduces chromatin mobility and partially restores Polycomb-associated chromatin interactions, while Cdx1/2/4 -null cells fail to acquire these WNT/β-catenin-dependent changes. Together, our findings establish chromatin mobility as a regulated property of cell state, with WNT/β-catenin signalling and CDX factors acting as mediators that fine-tune the sampling of 3D chromatin interactions during cell state transitions.
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Joint Wellcome and MRC Centre, ‘Wellcome Trust – Medical Research Council Cambridge Stem Cell Institute’, G3078855993, High-Speed Correlative Live Imaging Microscope for Biomedical Applications, Wellcome Four Year PhD Programme in Stem Cell Biology and Medicine, Wellcome Four Year PhD Programme in Stem Cell Biology and Medicine, Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, Deciphering the mechanism through which BRD4 mutations contribute to the neurodevelopmental disorder, G8872004867, G9000171483, Cambridge Stem Cell Institute
OpenAlex ID: W7220675536