In this study, we show that Brg1- and hBrm-based hSWI/SNF complexes contain the type II arginine methyltransferase PRMT5 and that both recombinant and hSWI/SNF-associated PRMT5 proteins are able to methylate hypoacetylated histones H3 and H4. We also provide evidence that links the Brg1-based hSWI/SNF complex, PRMT5, and mSin3A/HDAC2 to transcriptional repression of the Myc target gene cad. Our findings suggest that one mechanism by which PRMT5 and mSin3A/HDAC2 repress cad is by directly interacting with the same hSWI/SNF subunits targeted by c-Myc. Therefore, when c-Myc levels increase either upon mitogenic stimulation or, as is the case for many cancers, by aberrant expression of c-myc, interaction of hSWI/SNF complexes with repressor activities such as PRMT5 and mSin3A/HDAC would be minimized. As a result, c-Myc would be able to recruit repressor-free hSWI/SNF complexes and induce transcription of its target genes. The purification of hSWI/SNF complexes that lack c-Myc and the absence of PRMT5 and mSin3A in GST-Myc pull-down assays using either HeLa nuclear extract or affinity-purified hSWI/SNF complexes, which contain mSin3A and PRMT5, support this notion and suggest that the interactions of c-Myc and mSin3A/HDAC2-PRMT5 with hSWI/SNF complexes are mutually exclusive (Fig. ). Moreover, the ChIP results which show decreased association of PRMT5 and mSin3A/HDAC2 with the cad promoter 2 h after serum stimulation and increased recruitment of Brg1 in the presence of c-Myc further substantiate this theory (Fig. ). After 6 h of serum stimulation, it appears that mSin3A/HDAC2 and PRMT5 colocalize with c-Myc and Brg1 on the cad promoter. This time point is reflective of the dynamic changes that occur at the promoter prior to the onset of cad repression. As c-Myc levels decrease, association of the Brg1-based hSWI/SNF complex with mSin3A/HDAC2 and PRMT5 is restored, thereby bringing back the repressed state, which becomes established at 14 to 16 h post-serum stimulation.
Recent studies have shown that histone methylation can be influenced by other modifications, such as acetylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination (
29). In addition, there appears to be a certain level of cross talk between histone tails. For instance, ubiquitination of H2BK123 by the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Rad6 (Ubc2) has been shown to promote methylation of H3K4 by SET1 and to induce silencing (
55). Currently, it is not known whether arginine methylation by PRMTs can be affected by other histone modifications. We have shown that the mSin3A/HDAC2 and PRMT5-containing Brg1 and hBrm complexes are able to deacetylate the N-terminal tails of histones H3 and H4 but not H2A and H2B (Fig. ). Furthermore, we have found that the hSWI/SNF-associated PRMT5 is able to efficiently methylate hypoacetylated histones H3 and H4 (Fig. ), suggesting that histone lysine deacetylation enhances H3 and H4 arginine methylation. Although the histone arginine residues targeted by PRMT5 are still not known, we have been able to show that PRMT5 and HDAC2 are concomitantly recruited to the
cad promoter and that HDAC2 inhibition abolishes
cad repression in vivo (Fig. ), indicating that histone deacetylation plays an important role in
cad transcriptional repression. In vivo experiments aimed at addressing the role played by PRMT5 in
cad repression were unsuccessful, because the addition of high concentrations (700 μM) of the methyltransferase inhibitor 5′-methyl-thioadenosine failed to inactivate the Brg1- and hBrm-associated PRMT5 (Pal and Sif, unpublished results). Currently, we are establishing a PRMT5 antisense cell line to rigorously address the role played by this arginine methyltransferase in
cad regulation.
The biochemical association of PRMT5 and mSin3A/HDAC2 with Brg1- and hBrm-based hSWI/SNF complexes suggests that these histone-modifying and chromatin-remodeling activities are functionally related. We have observed that association of Brg1 with the
cad promoter fluctuated as cells were either arrested in G
1 or stimulated to enter S phase. Although recruitment of Brg1 was reduced upon serum starvation, we were still able to detect its association with the
cad promoter, but not with the
odc promoter (Fig. ). Consistent with this result, Brg1 remained associated with the promoter region even when
cad mRNA induction was reduced to basal levels (Fig. and , 14 and 16 h), indicating that the Brg1-based hSWI/SNF complex is involved in
cad transcriptional repression. It is well established that c-Myc can recruit the histone acetyltransferase hGCN5 via TRRAP (
36,
37). It is also known that c-Myc can induce
cad expression by increasing acetylation of nucleosomal histone H4 at the promoter region (
18). Using primers that flank the same region examined by Frank et al. (
18), we have found that upon serum stimulation there was an increase in c-Myc binding which was accompanied by a complete loss of PRMT5 and mSin3A/HDAC2 (Fig. ). Recruitment of PRMT5 and mSin3A/HDAC2 was not detected until 6 h poststimulation, a time point when Brg1 is associated with the
cad promoter. Therefore, it is conceivable that the Brg1-based hSWI/SNF complex plays a dual role during
cad transcription. Through its ability to interact with c-Myc, the Brg1 complex is able to promote
cad transcriptional activation. However, as cells are either blocked in G
1 or traverse S phase and c-Myc levels decrease, PRMT5 and mSin3A/HDAC2 are recruited by directly interacting with the same hSWI/SNF subunits targeted by c-Myc to promote
cad transcriptional repression.
Inactivation of Brg1, hBrm, BAF57, and BAF45/Ini1 has been linked to a wide variety of cancers, including leukemias, lymphomas, breast and lung cancers, and rhabdoid sarcomas (
11,
45,
58,
61). Protein-protein interaction studies indicate that Brg1, hBrm, BAF57, and BAF45/Ini1 can directly interact with mSin3A and PRMT5 (Fig. and ). In addition, affinity purification of Brg1 and hBrm complexes containing PRMT5 and mSin3A/HDAC2 strongly suggests that Brg1, hBrm, BAF57, and BAF45/Ini1 play a major role in tethering these corepressor activities to the promoter region of target genes. Thus, it is possible that interaction with PRMT5 and mSin3A/HDAC2 corepressor complexes is essential for the tumor suppressor function of Brg1- and hBrm-based hSWI/SNF complexes.
Brg1 and hBrm complexes are highly related to each other and can disrupt nucleosome structure and increase accessibility to nucleosomal DNA and histones. Although both complexes contain ATPases that are related and associate with similar corepressor activities, they do show some differences. For example, Brg1 and hBrm complexes purified from asynchronous cells remodel nucleosomes with different specific activities (
51). Moreover, both complexes are regulated differently by phosphorylation (
38,
50). Gene knockout experiments have shown that Brg1 and hBrm have different effects on cell growth and proliferation. Brg1 cannot be deleted unless it is expressed from an ectopic source (
7,
54), whereas hBrm is dispensable for cell growth since deletion of both alleles has no effect on viability (
46). Thus, it appears that although there is some redundancy between Brg1 and hBrm complexes, each complex might perform distinct functions that contribute to normal cell growth and proliferation.
We have shown that Brg1- and hBrm-based hSWI/SNF complexes can interact with mSin3A and PRMT5 (Fig. , , and ). We have also shown that
cad repression is altered in the presence of catalytically inactive Brg1 (Fig. ) and that this is due to the direct recruitment of mutant Brg1 to the
cad promoter region (Fig. ). Using cell lines that express mutant hBrm, we have been unable to determine whether hBrm has any effect on
cad gene expression because serum starvation decreased hBrm protein levels (Datta and Sif, unpublished results). The lists of direct target genes regulated by Brg1 and hBrm complexes remain unknown. However, recent studies have shown that hSWI/SNF complexes and their associated histone-modifying enzymes are involved in transcriptional repression of cell cycle regulators such as cyclins A, D1, and E (
15,
64,
67). Based on these studies and the findings which show that mutation of hSWI/SNF subunits are associated with cancer, it is going to be important to identify more Brg1 and hBrm direct target genes, elucidate the mechanism by which Brg1- and hBrm-based hSWI/SNF complexes contribute to their regulation, and study how changes in their expression might influence cell growth and proliferation.