Spatial Reorganization of Chromatin Architecture Shapes the Expression Phenotype of Therapy‐Induced Senescent Cells

Cellular senescence is a fundamental biological process contributing to aging, often accompanied by extensive chromatin remodeling. Dynamic alterations of three-dimensional (3D) genomic spatial structure, driven by chromatin reorganization, play a critical role in cell fate determination, but their relevance in therapy-induced senescence (TIS) remains underexplored. Here, we perform an integrative multi-omics analysis of Hi-C, ATAC-seq, CUT&RUN, and RNA-seq in primary human fibroblasts undergoing TIS induced by ionizing radiation (RAD) or bleomycin (BLEO). We show that TIS leads to global chromatin decompaction, weakened compartmentalization, and destabilization of topologically associated domains (TADs), alongside widespread loss and rewiring of chromatin loops. Notably, RAD and BLEO elicit distinct changes in distance-dependent compartment strength and enhancer-promoter (E-P) loop patterns, reflecting divergent 3D regulatory programs. Importantly, TIS reshapes the chromatin environment around senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) genes, while their adjacent regions exhibit reduced chromatin interactions, allowing transcriptional activation. Our study reveals that 3D genome remodeling in TIS is highly plastic and context-dependent and discloses spatial regulation of gene expression during therapy-induced cellular senescence.

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Publication Details

Journal
Aging Cell
Published
2026-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.70366
Primary Topic
Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
Type
article
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article

Spatial Reorganization of Chromatin Architecture Shapes the Expression Phenotype of Therapy‐Induced Senescent Cells

Gang Wei, Changxu Wang, Haipeng Li, Wen Zhang et al.
Aging Cell
Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
article

Spatial Reorganization of Chromatin Architecture Shapes the Expression Phenotype of Therapy‐Induced Senescent Cells

Gang Wei, Changxu Wang, Haipeng Li, Wen Zhang, Ge Zhang, Qixia Xu, Yu Sun, Zhirui Jiang, James L. Kirkland
article en

Abstract

Cellular senescence is a fundamental biological process contributing to aging, often accompanied by extensive chromatin remodeling. Dynamic alterations of three-dimensional (3D) genomic spatial structure, driven by chromatin reorganization, play a critical role in cell fate determination, but their relevance in therapy-induced senescence (TIS) remains underexplored. Here, we perform an integrative multi-omics analysis of Hi-C, ATAC-seq, CUT&RUN, and RNA-seq in primary human fibroblasts undergoing TIS induced by ionizing radiation (RAD) or bleomycin (BLEO). We show that TIS leads to global chromatin decompaction, weakened compartmentalization, and destabilization of topologically associated domains (TADs), alongside widespread loss and rewiring of chromatin loops. Notably, RAD and BLEO elicit distinct changes in distance-dependent compartment strength and enhancer-promoter (E-P) loop patterns, reflecting divergent 3D regulatory programs. Importantly, TIS reshapes the chromatin environment around senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) genes, while their adjacent regions exhibit reduced chromatin interactions, allowing transcriptional activation. Our study reveals that 3D genome remodeling in TIS is highly plastic and context-dependent and discloses spatial regulation of gene expression during therapy-induced cellular senescence.

Aging CellVol. 25(1)
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (US), Shandong University of Aeronautics (CN), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN), Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health (CN), Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 95%
Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
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