We recently reported that reducing the levels of BRG1, the catalytic subunit of mammalian SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling enzymes, induces alterations in nuclear shape in a breast epithelial cell line. Immunostaining the BRG1 knockdown cells with nuclear lamina antibodies revealed a significantly increased frequency of grooves, or invaginations, in the nuclei. Disruption of each of the major cytoplasmic filament systems (actin, tubulin and cytokeratins) had no impact on the BRG1-dependent changes in nuclear shape, indicating that the observed changes in nuclear morphology are unlikely to be a result of alterations in the integrity of the nuclear-cytoplamic contacts in the cell. We propose that the BRG1-dependent nuclear shape changes reflect a role for the chromatin remodeling enzyme in maintaining the structural integrity of the nucleus via global regulation of chromatin structure and dynamics within the nucleus.
Keywords: BRG1; SWI/SNF; breast epithelia; chromatin; chromatin remodeling; lamina; nuclear shape.