Biology subjects

Allo Anido, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Allo Anido, A..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

KDM5-driven transcriptional noise fuels plasticity-led awakening and relapse in paediatric cancer

How drug-tolerant persister (DTP) cells escape quiescence to drive tumour relapse is a central unresolved question in cancer evolution. Here, we identify transcriptional noise (TN), defined as the stochastic variability in gene expression, as a latent property of paediatric cancer cells that becomes a driver of adaptive regrowth after treatment withdrawal. Using functional assays, lineage tracing, single-cell transcriptomics, and multiscale landscape modelling, we show that therapy enriches mesenchymal-like tolerant states in neuroblastoma without clonal selection, while post-treatment awakening is a stochastic process fuelled by noise-enabled plasticity in cell-identity programmes. The histone demethylase KDM5A relocates to noisy cell-state genes during awakening, promoting H3K4me3 removal and chromatin remodelling at these loci. KDM5 inhibition abrogates this process, and suppresses transcriptional noise, halts DTP exit, and prevents tumour recovery in both neuroblastoma and hepatoblastoma models. These results establish DTP as an exploitable evolutionary bottleneck, positioning KDM5-mediated transcriptional noise as an actionable therapeutic target to limit cancer adaptation and relapse GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=120 SRC="FIGDIR/small/682004v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (34K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@edba70org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@16b1bd9org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@f153acorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1ac5a4e_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2025

The Role of Phenotypic Plasticity in Adaptation to Treatment and Prospective Plasticity Drivers in Hepatoblastoma

Hepatoblastoma (HB) is a paediatric liver cancer, associated with one of the lowest mutational burdens compared to other cancers. Despite this, HBs exhibit diverse phenotypes. It has been proposed that hijacking of early developmental plasticity is especially relevant to chemotherapy response in childhood cancers, however the underlying mechanisms of plasticity in HB remain poorly understood. Plasticity in HB requires investigation after treatment at a more granular temporal scale to further elucidate its role in treatment adaptation. In this work, we aim to study the role of plasticity in treatment adaptation and its underlying mechanisms by integrating heritable and expressed static DNA barcode technology with single-cell sequencing. The synergy between these approaches allows for simultaneous lineage tracing of single clones and phenotyping of single cells. We identify the phenotypic states that exist in HB preclinical models and explore the phenotypic transitions that occur following treatment, which could be important for cells to survive, persist and eventually recover. Expression and accessibility landscapes reveal prospective targets that could be markers or drivers of the plasticity which enables treatment adaptation in HB. By homing in on the clonal, transcriptomic and epigenetic dynamics post treatment, these results examine in greater detail the role of plasticity in treatment adaptation in HB.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Dynamic Plasticity Systems Direct Early Adaptation to Treatment in Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma, like many aggressive cancers, exhibits phenotypic heterogeneity, contributing to therapy resistance and disease progression. However, direct evidence of how phenotypic plasticity influences tumour evolution remains limited. Using a multi-resolution quantitative approach, we define the principles, types, and dynamics of plasticity in neuroblastoma at unprecedented resolution. We demonstrate that intrinsic plasticity is a model-dependent process that enables the coexistence of drug-sensitive and drug-resistant states in environmentally stable conditions, positioning plasticity as a bet-hedging strategy that allows tumours to anticipate environmental changes. Additionally, we show plasticity varies across lineages and single-cell-derived clones, establishing that it is not merely an induced response but a heritable and selectable trait. By simultaneously mapping plasticity at and clonal dynamics in evolving neuroblastoma populations, we show plasticity is shaped by selective pressures, reinforcing its role as a fundamental driver of neuroblastoma evolution in a treatment- and genetic background-dependent manner. We define three distinct modes of plasticityled adaptation. In the selection of the plasticity model, strong selective pressure temporarily constrains phenotypic transitions, but they reemerge with greater dynamics once the stressor is removed, favouring the selection of highly plastic clones. In the adaptive plasticity model, phenotypic transitions actively reshape tumour heterogeneity, allowing for rapid adaptation to treatment while minimising the impact of clonal selection. Finally, in the plasticity equilibrium model, phenotypic transitions persist at baseline, maintaining a state of phenotypic fluidity, with clonal selection ultimately dictating tumour evolution. These findings highlight the diverse, context-dependent strategies that neuroblastoma populations employ to navigate selective pressures and therapy resistance, emphasizing the need for plasticity-targeting therapeutic approaches to disrupt tumour adaptation and improve treatment outcomes. TeaserNatural selection and phenotypic transitions shape adaptive evolution, guiding neuroblastoma survival under treatment pressure.

cancer biology↗