SWI/SNF-directed stem cell lineage specification: dynamic composition regulates specific stages of skeletal myogenesis

SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complexes are key regulators of the epigenetic modifications that determine whether stem cells maintain pluripotency or commit toward specific lineages through development and during postnatal life. Dynamic combinatorial assembly of multiple variants of SWI/SNF subunits is emerging as the major determinant of the functional versatility of SWI/SNF. Here, we summarize the current knowledge on the structural and functional properties of the alternative SWI/SNF complexes that direct stem cell fate toward skeletal muscle lineage and control distinct stages of skeletal myogenesis. In particular, we will refer to recent evidence pointing to the essential role of two SWI/SNF components not expressed in embryonic stem cells—the catalytic subunit BRM and the structural component BAF60C—whose induction in muscle progenitors coincides with the expansion of their transcriptional repertoire.