Biop-C: A Method for Chromatin Interactome Analysis of Solid Cancer Needle Biopsy Samples

A major challenge in understanding the 3D genome organization of cancer samples is the lack of a method adapted to solid cancer needle biopsy samples. Here we developed Biop-C, a modified in situ Hi-C method, and applied it to characterize three nasopharyngeal cancer patient samples. We identified Topologically-Associated Domains (TADs), chromatin interaction loops, and Frequently Interacting regions (FIREs) at key oncogenes in nasopharyngeal cancer from Biop-C heat maps. Our results demonstrate the utility of our Biop-C method in investigating the 3D genome organization in solid cancers, and the importance of 3D genome organization in regulating oncogenes in nasopharyngeal cancer. Keywords: Hi-C, Biop-C, chromatin organization, 3D genome organization, nasopharyngeal cancer