The Expression of the SWI/SNF ATPase Subunits BRG1 and BRM... : Applied Immunohistochemistry & Molecular Morphology (original) (raw)

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The Expression of the SWI/SNF ATPase Subunits BRG1 and BRM in Normal Human Tissues

Reisman, David N. MD, PhD*; Sciarrotta, Janiece BS‡; Bouldin, Thomas W. MD‡; Weissman, Bernard E. PhD†‡; Funkhouser, William K. MD, PhD†‡

From the *Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; †Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and ‡Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Received for publication September 23, 2003; accepted April 19, 2004.

Reprints: William K. Funkhouser, MD, PhD, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7525 (e-mail: [email protected]).

Abstract

SWI/SNF is a chromatin-remodeling complex important in gene regulation, cytokine responses, tumorigenesis, differentiation, and development. As a multitude of signaling pathways require SWI/SNF, loss of SWI/SNF function is expected to have an impact on cellular phenotypes. The SWI/SNF ATPase subunits, BRG1 and BRM, have been shown to be lost in a subset of human cancer cell lines and human primary cancers and may represent tumor suppressor proteins. To better understand the biology of these proteins, the authors examined the expression pattern of BRG1 and BRM in a variety of normal tissues. BRG1 expression was predominantly seen in cell types that constantly undergo proliferation or self-renewal; in contrast, BRM was preferentially expressed in brain, liver, fibromuscular stroma, and endothelial cell types, cell types not constantly engaged in proliferation or self-renewal. This differential expression suggests that these proteins serve distinct functions in human tissues.