The microphthalmia-associated transcription factor requires SWI/SNF enzymes to activate melanocyte-specific genes

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Abstract

The microphthalmia transcription factor (Mitf) activates melanocyte-specific gene expression, is critical for survival and proliferation of melanocytes during development, and has been described as an oncogene in malignant melanoma. SWI/SNF complexes are ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling enzymes that play a role in many developmental processes. To determine the requirement for SWI/SNF enzymes in melanocyte differentiation, we introduced Mitf into fibroblasts that inducibly express dominant negative versions of the SWI/SNF ATPases, Brahma or Brahma-related gene 1 (BRG1). These dominant negative SWI/SNF components have been shown to inhibit gene activation events that normally require SWI/SNF enzymes. We found that Mitf-mediated activation of a subset of endogenous melanocyte-specific genes required SWI/SNF enzymes but that cell-cycle regulation occurred independently of SWI/SNF function. Activation of tyrosinase-related protein 1, a melanocyte-specific gene, correlated with SWI/SNF-dependent changes in chromatin accessibility at the endogenous locus. Both BRG1 and Mitf could be localized to the tyrosinase-related protein 1 and tyrosinase promoters by chromatin immunoprecipitation, whereas immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation experiments indicate that Mitf and BRG1 co-localized in the nucleus and physically interacted. Together these results suggest that Mitf can recruit SWI/SNF enzymes to melanocyte-specific promoters for the activation of gene expression via induced changes in chromatin structure at endogenous loci. © 2006 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

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De La Serna, I. L., Ohkawa, Y., Higashi, C., Dutta, C., Osias, J., Kommajosyula, N., … Imbalzano, A. N. (2006). The microphthalmia-associated transcription factor requires SWI/SNF enzymes to activate melanocyte-specific genes. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 281(29), 20233–20241. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M512052200

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