Dangerous liaisons: Interplay between SWI/SNF, NURD, and polycomb in chromatin regulation and cancer

Changes in chromatin structure mediated by ATP-dependent nucleosome remodelers and histone modifying enzymes are integral to the process of gene regulation. Here, we review the roles of the SWI/SNF (switch/sucrose nonfermenting) and NuRD (nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase) and the Polycomb system in chromatin regulation and cancer. First, we discuss the basic molecular mechanism of nucleosome remodeling, and how this controls gene transcription. Next, we provide an overview of the functional organization and biochemical activities of SWI/SNF, NuRD, and Polycomb complexes. We describe how, in metazoans, the balance of these activities is central to the proper regulation of gene expression and cellular identity during development. Whereas SWI/SNF counteracts Polycomb, NuRD facilitates Polycomb repression on chromatin. Finally, we discuss how disruptions of this regulatory equilibrium contribute to oncogenesis, and how new insights into the biological functions of remodelers and Polycombs are opening avenues for therapeutic interventions on a broad range of cancer types

NSC348060

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Separate and unequal: Prison versus free-world medical care*

Rusche and Kirchheimer argued that attempts at penal reform are limited by a principle of less eligibility, by which the regimen of punishment is made harsher than the conditions of life among the least well-off members of the working classes. In addition, Black posited that the benefits of law are inversely related to stratification and morphology; that is, inmates would be entitled to fewer benefits in law than would free-world citizens. Today the penal harm movement strives to make prison life harder, asserting that comfortable prison conditions are responsible for high crime rates. Critics frequently blame judicial intervention in prison operations for upsetting the careful calibration necessary to deter crime. In this article we examine these assertions by focusing on medical care litigation. Comparing the legal rales and precedents used to hold prison physicians liable for inadequate medical care under 42 U.S.C., Section 1983 with the standards customarily employed by courts in evaluating medical malpractice in the free world, we conclude that judicial decisions in this vital area conform to what would be expected, given the operation of the principle of less eligibility and Black’s “differentiation of law” thesis. © 1998 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences