Structural Insights into the Evolutionarily Conserved BAF Chromatin Remodeling Complex

• Published in: Biology (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 9; no. 7; p. 146
• Main Authors: Marcum, Ryan D, Reyes, Alexis A, He, Yuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.07.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Adenosine triphosphatase; BAF complex; Binding sites; BRG1 protein; Cancer; Chromatin; Chromatin remodeling; cryo-EM; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Development and progression; DNA; Gene expression; Genetic aspects; Mutation; Physiological aspects; Proteins; Review; Sucrose; SWI/SNF complex; Transcription factors; Tumor suppression; United States; BAF complex; chromatin remodeling; cancer; cryo-EM; SWI/SNF complex
• ISSN: 2079-7737; 2079-7737
• DOI: 10.3390/biology9070146

The switch/sucrose nonfermentable (SWI/SNF) family of proteins acts to regulate chromatin accessibility and plays an essential role in multiple cellular processes. A high frequency of mutations has been found in SWI/SNF family subunits by exome sequencing in human cancer, and multiple studies support its role in tumor suppression. Recent structural studies of yeast SWI/SNF and its human homolog, BAF (BRG1/BRM associated factor), have provided a model for their complex assembly and their interaction with nucleosomal substrates, revealing the molecular function of individual subunits as well as the potential impact of cancer-associated mutations on the remodeling function. Here we review the structural conservation between yeast SWI/SNF and BAF and examine the role of highly mutated subunits within the BAF complex.