AUTHOR=Pagliaroli Luca , Trizzino Marco 

TITLE=The Evolutionary Conserved SWI/SNF Subunits ARID1A and ARID1B Are Key Modulators of Pluripotency and Cell-Fate Determination

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2021.643361

DOI=10.3389/fcell.2021.643361

ISSN=2296-634X

ABSTRACT=<p>Organismal development is a process that requires a fine-tuned control of cell fate and identity, through timely regulation of lineage-specific genes. These processes are mediated by the concerted action of transcription factors and protein complexes that orchestrate the interaction between <italic>cis</italic>-regulatory elements (enhancers, promoters) and RNA Polymerase II to elicit transcription. A proper understanding of these dynamics is essential to elucidate the mechanisms underlying developmental diseases. Many developmental disorders, such as Coffin-Siris Syndrome, characterized by growth impairment and intellectual disability are associated with mutations in subunits of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeler complex, which is an essential regulator of transcription. <italic>ARID1B</italic> and its paralog <italic>ARID1A</italic> encode for the two largest, mutually exclusive, subunits of the complex. Mutations in <italic>ARID1A</italic> and, especially, <italic>ARID1B</italic> are recurrently associated with a very wide array of developmental disorders, suggesting that these two SWI/SNF subunits play an important role in cell fate decision. In this mini-review we therefore discuss the available scientific literature linking <italic>ARID1A</italic> and <italic>ARID1B</italic> to cell fate determination, pluripotency maintenance, and organismal development.</p>