Identification of a nuclear protein ArpN as a component of human SWI/SNF complex and its selective association with a subset of active genes.

The hSWI/SNF complex remodels the chromatin structure to modulate gene expression. The hSWI/SNF complex is a multiprotein complex with at least 10 different proteins in mammals. In this study, we identified the 45 kDa subunit of the hSWI/SNF complex as ArpN, an actin-related protein. ArpN has a 36% identity and 50% similarity with the human beta-actin, but cannot be classified into any known class of actin-related proteins. ArpN is exclusively localized within the nucleus and appears as the unbound, chromatin-associated, or nuclear matrix associated forms in the nucleus. In the chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay, we found the associations of ArpN with the Ets-2 and c-mycP2 promoter regions in HeLa cells. The promoter regions of the hsp70, cyclophilin, beta-globin, TdT, and cd4 genes, however, were not associated with ArpN. The Ets-2 and c-mycP2 genes are expressed actively in HeLa cells, but beta-globin, TdT, and cd4 genes are inactive. The hsp70 and cyclophilin genes have a feature of stress-inducibility. These selective associations of ArpN with a subset of active genes support the proposition that the requirement of hSWI/SNF complex in gene activation is gene specific.