Epigenetic memory of colitis promotes tumour growth

Chronic inflammation is a well-established risk factor for cancer, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear1,2. Using a mouse model of colitis, we demonstrate that colonic stem cells retain an epigenetic memory of inflammation following disease resolution that persists for more than 100 days. Here we find that memory of colitis is characterized by a cumulative gain of activator protein 1 (AP-1) transcription factor activity, with durable changes to chromatin accessibility. Further, we develop SHARE-TRACE, a method that enables simultaneous profiling of gene expression, chromatin accessibility and clonal history in single cells, enabling high-resolution tracking of epigenomic memory. This approach…