Diverse Roles and Interactions of the SWI/SNF Chromatin Remodeling Complex Revealed Using Global Approaches

A systems understanding of nuclear organization and events is critical for determining how cells divide, differentiate, and respond to stimuli and for identifying the causes of diseases. Chromatin remodeling complexes such as SWI/SNF have been implicated in a wide variety of cellular processes including gene expression, nuclear organization, centromere function, and chromosomal stability, and mutations in SWI/SNF components have been linked to several types of cancer. To better understand the biological processes in which chromatin remodeling proteins participate, we globally mapped binding regions for several components of the SWI/SNF complex throughout the human genome using ChIP-Seq. SWI/SNF components were found to lie near regulatory elements integral to transcription (e.g. 5′ ends, RNA Polymerases II and III, and enhancers) as well as regions critical for chromosome organization (e.g. CTCF, lamins, and DNA replication origins). Interestingly we also find that certain configurations of SWI/SNF subunits are associated with transcripts that have higher levels of expression, whereas other configurations of SWI/SNF factors are associated with transcripts that have lower levels of expression. To further elucidate the association of SWI/SNF subunits with each other as well as with other nuclear proteins, we also analyzed SWI/SNF immunoprecipitated complexes by mass spectrometry. Individual SWI/SNF factors are associated with their own family members, as well as with cellular constituents such as nuclear matrix proteins, key transcription factors, and centromere components, implying a ubiquitous role in gene regulation and nuclear function. We find an overrepresentation of both SWI/SNF-associated regions and proteins in cell cycle and chromosome organization. Taken together the results from our ChIP and immunoprecipitation experiments suggest that SWI/SNF facilitates gene regulation and genome function more broadly and through a greater diversity of interactions than previously appreciated

Close association of RNA polymerase II and many transcription factors with Pol III genes

Transcription of the eukaryotic genomes is carried out by three distinct RNA polymerases I, II, and III, whereby each polymerase is thought to independently transcribe a distinct set of genes. To investigate a possible relationship of RNA polymerases II and III, we mapped their in vivo binding sites throughout the human genome by using ChIP-Seq in two different cell lines, GM12878 and K562 cells. Pol III was found to bind near many known genes as well as several previously unidentified target genes. RNA-Seq studies indicate that a majority of the bound genes are expressed, although a subset are not suggestive of stalling by RNA polymerase III. Pol II was found to bind near many known Pol III genes, including tRNA, U6, HVG, hY, 7SK and previously unidentified Pol III target genes. Similarly, in vivo binding studies also reveal that a number of transcription factors normally associated with Pol II transcription, including c-Fos, c-Jun and c-Myc, also tightly associate with most Pol III-transcribed genes. Inhibition of Pol II activity using α-amanitin reduced expression of a number of Pol III genes (e.g., U6, hY, HVG), suggesting that Pol II plays an important role in regulating their transcription. These results indicate that, contrary to previous expectations, polymerases can often work with one another to globally coordinate gene expression