The composition of chromatin-remodeling complexes dictates how these enzymes control transcriptional programs and cellular identity. In the present study we investigated the composition of SWI/SNF complexes in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). In contrast to differentiated cells, ESCs have a biased incorporation of certain paralogous SWI/SNF subunits with low levels of BRM, BAF170, and ARID1B. Upon differentiation, the expression of these subunits increases, resulting in a higher diversity of compositionally distinct SWI/SNF enzymes. We also identified BRD7 as a novel component of the Polybromo-associated BRG1-associated factor (PBAF) complex in both ESCs and differentiated cells. Using short hairpin RNA-mediated depletion of BRG1, we showed that SWI/SNF can function as both a repressor and an activator in pluripotent cells, regulating expression of developmental modifiers and signaling components such as Nodal, ADAMTS1, BMI-1, CRABP1, and thyroid releasing hormone. Knockdown studies of PBAF-specific BRD7 and of a signature subunit within the BAF complex, ARID1A, showed that these two subcomplexes affect SWI/SNF target genes differentially, in some cases even antagonistically. This may be due to their different biochemical properties. Finally we examined the role of SWI/SNF in regulating its target genes during differentiation. We found that SWI/SNF affects recruitment of components of the preinitiation complex in a promoter-specific manner to modulate transcription positively or negatively. Taken together, our results provide insight into the function of compositionally diverse SWI/SNF enzymes that underlie their inherent gene-specific mode of action. © 2008 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.
CITATION STYLE
Kaeser, M. D., Aslanian, A., Dong, M. Q., Yates, J. R., & Emerson, B. M. (2008). BRD7, a novel PBAF-specific SWI/SNF subunit, is required for target gene activation and repression in embryonic stem cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 283(47), 32254–32263. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M806061200
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