Dynamic BRG1 Recruitment During T Helper Differentiation And Activation Reveals Distal Regulatory Elements

We found binding of the remodeling protein BRG1 was programmed by lineage and activation signals. BRG1 binding was positively correlated with gene activity at protein-coding and miRNA genes. BRG1 binding was found at promoters and distal regions, including known and novel distal regulatory elements. Distal BRG1 binding correlated with expression, and novel distal sites possessed enhancer activity, suggesting a general role for BRG1 in long-distance gene regulation. Together, these findings suggest BRG1 interprets differentiation and activation signals and plays a causal role in gene regulation, chromatin structure, and cell fate. Our findings indicate BRG1 binding is a useful marker for identifying cis-regulatory regions in protein-coding and miRNA genes. Compare BRG1 binding in T helper subsets genome wide; Naïve, resting Th1, resting Th2, Stimulated Th1, Stimulated Th2, Stimulated Th17, compared to input DNA as negative control