Publications by authors named "Katherine C Helming"
Article Synopsis
- Cancer genome sequencing has uncovered that chromatin modifiers, especially SWI/SNF (BAF) complexes, are often mutated in many cancer types, affecting about 20% of human cancers.
- These mutations are mostly loss-of-function, which makes them hard to target directly in treatment, prompting researchers to explore the mechanisms behind these mutations and their effects.
- New findings suggest that these mutations create abnormal SWI/SNF complexes, presenting potential vulnerabilities that could be used for developing targeted therapies in cancers with these specific mutations.
Article Synopsis
- * A study identified ARID1B, an ARID1A homolog, as crucial for the survival of ARID1A-mutant cancer cell lines, suggesting it is a key player in cancer cell proliferation.
- * The research reveals that while ARID1A and ARID1B mutations are common in cancer, retaining at least one functional ARID1B allele in ARID1A-deficient cancers demonstrates a co-dependent relationship that could be targeted for new therapies.
Collectively, genes encoding subunits of the SWI/SNF (BAF) chromatin remodeling complex are mutated in 20% of all human cancers, with the SMARCA4 (BRG1) subunit being one of the most frequently mutated. The SWI/SNF complex modulates chromatin remodeling through the activity of two mutually exclusive catalytic subunits, SMARCA4 and SMARCA2 (BRM). Here, we show that a SMARCA2-containing residual SWI/SNF complex underlies the oncogenic activity of SMARCA4 mutant cancers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrecise nucleosome-positioning patterns at promoters are thought to be crucial for faithful transcriptional regulation. However, the mechanisms by which these patterns are established, are dynamically maintained, and subsequently contribute to transcriptional control are poorly understood. The switch/sucrose non-fermentable chromatin remodeling complex, also known as the Brg1 associated factors complex, is a master developmental regulator and tumor suppressor capable of mobilizing nucleosomes in biochemical assays.
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