title: The SWI/SNF genetic blockade: effects in cell differentiation, cancer and developmental diseases.
abstract: Our rapidly growing knowledge about cancer genetics attests to the widespread occurrence of alterations at genes encoding different components of the SWI/SNF complex. This reveals an important new feature that sustains cancer development: the blockade of chromatin remodeling. Here, we provide an overview of our current knowledge on the gene alterations of chromatin-remodeling factors, and how they relate to cancer and human developmental diseases. We also consider the functional repercussions, particularly how the inactivation of the SWI/SNF complex impairs the appropriate cell response to nuclear receptor signaling, which, in turn, prevents cell differentiation and sustains cell growth independently of the environment.
authors.affiliation: Genes and Cancer Group, Cancer Epigenetics and Biology Program-PEBC, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: O A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.affiliation: Genes and Cancer Group, Cancer Epigenetics and Biology Program-PEBC, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Cespedes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000235:genetics; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / Q000235:genetics*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D018095:Germ-Line Mutation; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; C445179:SWI-SNF-B chromatin-remodeling complex; D014157:Transcription Factors