The SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling assemblies BAF and PBAF differentially regulate cell cycle exit and cellular invasion in vivo

PLoS Genet. 2022 Jan 4;18(1):e1009981. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009981. eCollection 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Chromatin remodelers such as the SWI/SNF complex coordinate metazoan development through broad regulation of chromatin accessibility and transcription, ensuring normal cell cycle control and cellular differentiation in a lineage-specific and temporally restricted manner. Mutations in genes encoding the structural subunits of chromatin, such as histone subunits, and chromatin regulating factors are associated with a variety of disease mechanisms including cancer metastasis, in which cancer co-opts cellular invasion programs functioning in healthy cells during development. Here we utilize Caenorhabditis elegans anchor cell (AC) invasion as an in vivo model to identify the suite of chromatin agents and chromatin regulating factors that promote cellular invasiveness. We demonstrate that the SWI/SNF ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complex is a critical regulator of AC invasion, with pleiotropic effects on both G0 cell cycle arrest and activation of invasive machinery. Using targeted protein degradation and enhanced RNA interference (RNAi) vectors, we show that SWI/SNF contributes to AC invasion in a dose-dependent fashion, with lower levels of activity in the AC corresponding to aberrant cell cycle entry and increased loss of invasion. Our data specifically implicate the SWI/SNF BAF assembly in the regulation of the G0 cell cycle arrest in the AC, whereas the SWI/SNF PBAF assembly promotes AC invasion via cell cycle-independent mechanisms, including attachment to the basement membrane (BM) and activation of the pro-invasive fos-1/FOS gene. Together these findings demonstrate that the SWI/SNF complex is necessary for two essential components of AC invasion: arresting cell cycle progression and remodeling the BM. The work here provides valuable single-cell mechanistic insight into how the SWI/SNF assemblies differentially contribute to cellular invasion and how SWI/SNF subunit-specific disruptions may contribute to tumorigeneses and cancer metastasis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Basement Membrane / metabolism
  • CRISPR-Cas Systems
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / metabolism
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / physiology*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cell Cycle
  • Cell Movement
  • Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / genetics*
  • Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Models, Animal
  • Mutation*
  • Phenotype
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / metabolism*
  • Single-Cell Analysis

Substances

  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone
  • FOS-1 protein, C elegans
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos