A carrier-assisted ChIP-seq method for estrogen receptor-chromatin interactions from breast cancer core needle biopsy samples

Background The Estrogen Receptor alpha (ERα) is the key transcriptional regulator in luminal breast cancer and is therefore the main target for adjuvant treatment of this subtype. Luminal gene signatures are dictated by the transcriptional capacities of ERα, which are a direct consequence of the receptors binding preference at specific sites on the chromatin. The identification of ERα binding signatures on a genome-wide level has greatly enhanced our understanding of Estrogen Receptor biology in cell lines and tumours, but the technique has its limitations with respect to its applicability in limited amounts of tumour tissue.