Brahma (BRM) and Brahma-related gene 1 (BRG1) are the ATP-dependent catalytic subunits of the SWI/SNF family of chromatin-remodeling complexes. These complexes are involved in essential processes such as cell cycle, growth, differentiation, and cancer. Using imaging approaches in a cell line that harbors tandem repeats of stably integrated copies of the steroid responsive MMTV-LTR (mouse mammary tumor virus-long terminal repeat), we show that BRG1 and BRM are recruited to the MMTV promoter in a hormone-dependent manner. The recruitment of BRG1 and BRM resulted in chromatin remodeling and decondensation of the MMTV repeat as demonstrated by an increase in the restriction enzyme accessibility and in the size of DNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) signals. This chromatin remodeling event was concomitant with an increased occupancy of RNA polymerase II and transcriptional activation at the MMTV promoter. The expression of ATPase-deficient forms of BRG1 (BRG1-K-R) or BRM (BRM-K-R) inhibited the remodeling of local and higher order MMTV chromatin structure and resulted in the attenuation of transcription. In vivo photobleaching experiments provided direct evidence that BRG1, BRG1-K-R, and BRM chromatin-remodeling complexes have distinct kinetic properties on the MMTV array, and they dynamically associate with and dissociate from MMTV chromatin in a manner dependent on hormone and a functional ATPase domain. Our data provide a kinetic and mechanistic basis for the BRG1 and BRM chromatin-remodeling complexes in regulating gene expression at a steroid hormone inducible promoter.
INTRODUCTIONThe eukaryotic genome is organized into higher order chromatin structures in the nucleus. The regulation of eukaryotic gene expression in the context of chromatin is a complex event and is essential for numerous cellular processes (Lemon and Tjian, 2000;Orphanides and Reinberg, 2002;Labrador and Corces, 2002;Maniatis and Reed, 2002;Felsenfeld and Groudine, 2003;Roberts and Orkin, 2004). Maintenance, establishment, and modification of global chromatin organization and local chromatin structure are modulated by a large number of chromatin-binding proteins that generate transcriptionally permissive or repressed chromatin domains in response to environmental stimuli (Workman and Kingston, 1998;Peterson and Workman, 2000;Jones and Kadonaga, 2000;Wu and Grunstein, 2000;Wolffe and Hansen, 2001;Becker et al., 2002). The association of linker histones and nonhistone and heterochromatin-specific proteins such as high mobility group proteins and HP1 play key roles in the generation of higher order chromatin structures (Arents et al., 1991; Luger et al., 1997;Bustin, 1999;Eissenberg and Elgin, 2000;Hill, 2001;Thomas and Travers, 2001;Woodcock and Dimitrov, 2001;Grewal and Elgin, 2002;Bianchi and Agresti, 2005;Bustin et al., 2005;Verschure et al., 2005). The stearically restricted environment presented by chromatin is in part overcome by multisubunit protein complexes that enzymatically regulate chromatin structure. These complexes can e...