Imperial College London

ProfessorLucaMagnani

Faculty of MedicineDepartment of Surgery & Cancer

Chair in Cancer Adaptation and Evolution
 
 
 
//

Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 2808l.magnani CV

 
 
//

Location

 

137ICTEM buildingHammersmith Campus

//

Summary

 

Summary

Cancer cells exhibit altered transcriptional profiles when compared to their tissue of origin. Genetic alterations participate in promoting defective transcription, however they don't explain the full spectrum of aberrations found in malignant tissues. Gene expression is also controlled via modifications of the chromatin landscape including DNA methylation, histone modifications and chromatin remodelling. Our  objective is to characterize the role of the chromatin landcape in oncogenesis. A second goal is to understand how cancer cells reprogram the chromatin landscape to escape treatment.

We have used breast cancer models to demonstrate that epigenetic reprogramming of the chromatin landscape promotes the expression of genes directly related to resistance to endocrine therapies. We can create epigenomic maps to study the regulatory networks of cancer cells and determine how these networks respond to therapies. Ultimately, we want to exploit epigenetic mapping to identify druggable targets, biomarkers and develop novel compounds to interfere with reprogramming.

My lab is also interested in understanding the extent of interactions existing between genetic and epigenetic alterations. Cancer cells likely exploit both genetic and epigenetic mutations to promote proliferation, adaptation and invasion.

More information can be found here:

http://cancer-epigenomics.com/

Publications

Journals

Heide T, Househam J, Cresswell GD, et al., 2022, The co-evolution of the genome and epigenome in colorectal cancer, Nature, Vol:611, ISSN:0028-0836, Pages:733-743

Househam J, Heide T, Cresswell GD, et al., 2022, Phenotypic plasticity and genetic control in colorectal cancer evolution, Nature, Vol:611, ISSN:0028-0836, Pages:744-+

Trasanidis N, Katsarou A, Ponnusamy K, et al., 2022, Systems medicine dissection of chr1q-amp reveals a novel PBX1-FOXM1 axis for targeted therapy in multiple myeloma, Blood, Vol:139, ISSN:0006-4971, Pages:1939-1953

Magnani L, 2022, Genetic and epigenetic driven variation in regulatory regions activity contribute to adaptation and evolution under endocrine treatment

Magnani L, 2022, Long-term multi-modal recording reveals unpredictable nongenetic adaptation routes in dormant breast cancer cells.

More Publications