Signal-Regulated Transcriptional and Epigenetic Reprogramming in Cancer

Signal transduction and gene regulation are at the heart of cell and developmental biology, driving cell fate decisions and tissue homeostasis. In cancer, these tightly regulated processes are frequently disrupted, leading to aberrant transcriptional programs and epigenetic reconfigurations that promote uncontrolled growth, dedifferentiation, and metastasis. Emerging evidence shows that oncogenic signals do not act in isolation but remodel chromatin accessibility, histone marks, and DNA methylation to sculpt disease-specific transcriptional landscapes. Recent studies using single-cell transcriptomics and epigenomic profiling have begun to unravel how signal-dependent transcription factors and chromatin regulators cooperate to maintain malignant cell states, yet the causal relationships and dynamic hierarchies among these mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Gaps persist in understanding how cell context, microenvironmental cues, and developmental lineage influence these signalling-epigenetic interactions across the cancer continuum.This Research Topic aims to advance understanding of how cellular signalling pathways guide transcriptional and epigenetic reprogramming during cancer initiation, progression, and adaptation. It seeks to unite developmental and cancer biology by exploring how pathways that normally coordinate differentiation, morphogenesis, and tissue maintenance become co-opted to sustain oncogenic programs. Key objectives include defining the molecular logic by which intracellular and extracellular cues regulate chromatin states, identifying lineage- and context-specific transcriptional regulators, and uncovering mechanisms that confer developmental plasticity to tumour cells. Hypotheses linking developmental signalling axes to epigenetic changes driving tumour heterogeneity and resistance are particularly encouraged.To gather further insights into the cellular and developmental origins of signal-dependent gene regulation in cancer, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:Signal transduction cascades modulating transcriptional networks in cancer cell fate decisionsDevelopmental signalling pathways (e.g., WNT, Hedgehog, Notch, Hippo, TGF-β) in oncogenic epigenetic regulationChromatin-remodelling complexes and histone modifiers under signal controlCell plasticity and lineage reprogramming driven by signalling-epigenetic crosstalkSingle-cell and spatial multi-omics approaches to map signalling and epigenetic heterogeneityInterplay between tumour microenvironmental signals and epigenetic statesTherapeutic targeting of signal-dependent transcriptional and chromatin regulators Topic editors: Rajiv Kumar Jha, Vipin Rawat, Harendra Shah Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83297/signal-regulated-transcriptional-and-epigenetic-reprogramming-in-cancer