# SWI/SNF Chromatin Remodelling Complex in Hepatic Physiology: Mechanistic Insights Into Development, Homeostasis and Pathogenesis

**Authors:** Rui Li, Bo Zhang, Xinyu Wei, Jiayin Yang, Yongjie Zhou

PMC · DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.71032 · Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine · 2026-01-23

## TL;DR

This paper reviews how the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex regulates liver function and disease through epigenetic mechanisms.

## Contribution

It provides a comprehensive synthesis of SWI/SNF's role in liver development, homeostasis, and pathogenesis.

## Key findings

- The SWI/SNF complex regulates hepatic transcriptional programs through chromatin remodeling.
- It plays a key role in liver development, homeostasis, and disease progression.
- Modulating SWI/SNF activity may offer therapeutic potential for liver disorders.

## Abstract

The liver executes essential metabolic functions including energy homeostasis, lipid biosynthesis, cholesterol regulation and xenobiotic detoxification. While hepatocyte metabolic activity forms the foundation of these processes, their precise regulation is achieved through chromatin remodelling mechanisms, with the SWI/SNF complex emerging as a central epigenetic orchestrator. Accumulating evidence positions this ATP‐dependent chromatin remodeler as a critical regulator of hepatic development, homeostatic maintenance and pathological transformation. Through nucleosome repositioning and histone‐DNA interaction modulation, the SWI/SNF complex governs transcriptional programs controlling cellular proliferation, differentiation and metabolic adaptation. This review synthesises current understanding of SWI/SNF‐mediated epigenetic regulation in hepatic biology and explores its therapeutic potential for liver disorders.

## Linked entities

- **Proteins:** swi/snf (SWI/SNF protein)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** Itgax (integrin alpha X) [NCBI Gene 16411] {aka Cd11c, Cr4, N418}, Malat1 (metastasis associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (non-coding RNA)) [NCBI Gene 72289] {aka 2210401K01Rik, 9430072K23Rik, Neat2}, NQO1 (NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1) [NCBI Gene 1728] {aka DHQU, DIA4, DTD, NMOR1, NMORI, QR1}, STAT2 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 2) [NCBI Gene 6773] {aka IMD44, ISGF-3, P113, PTORCH3, STAT113}, PPARGC1A (PPARG coactivator 1 alpha) [NCBI Gene 10891] {aka LEM6, PGC-1(alpha), PGC-1alpha, PGC-1v, PGC1, PGC1A}, Arid1a (AT-rich interaction domain 1A) [NCBI Gene 93760] {aka 1110030E03Rik, BAF250, BAF250a, Osa1, Smarcf1}, CEBPA (CCAAT enhancer binding protein alpha) [NCBI Gene 1050] {aka C/EBP-alpha, CEBP}, GADD45A (growth arrest and DNA damage inducible alpha) [NCBI Gene 1647] {aka DDIT1, GADD45}, EZH2 (enhancer of zeste 2 polycomb repressive complex 2 subunit) [NCBI Gene 2146] {aka ENX-1, ENX1, EZH2b, KMT6, KMT6A, WVS}, TGFB1 (transforming growth factor beta 1) [NCBI Gene 7040] {aka CAEND1, CED, DPD1, IBDIMDE, LAP, TGF-beta1}, Ctnnb1 (catenin beta 1) [NCBI Gene 12387] {aka Bfc, Catnb, Mesc}, Nfkb1 (nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B cells 1, p105) [NCBI Gene 18033] {aka NF-KB1, NF-kappaB, NF-kappaB1, p105, p50, p50/p105}, PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) [NCBI Gene 5111] {aka ATLD2}, CCND1 (cyclin D1) [NCBI Gene 595] {aka BCL1, D11S287E, PRAD1, U21B31}, SMARCD2 (SWI/SNF related BAF chromatin remodeling complex subunit D2) [NCBI Gene 6603] {aka BAF60B, CRACD2, PRO2451, Rsc6p, SGD2}, TOP2A (DNA topoisomerase II alpha) [NCBI Gene 7153] {aka TOP2, TOP2alpha, TOPIIA, TP2A}, SMARCC1 (SWI/SNF related BAF chromatin remodeling complex subunit C1) [NCBI Gene 6599] {aka BAF155, CRACC1, HYC5, Rsc8, SRG3, SWI3}, ARID1B (AT-rich interaction domain 1B) [NCBI Gene 57492] {aka 6A3-5, BAF250B, BRIGHT, CSS1, DAN15, ELD/OSA1}, Cyp2e1 (cytochrome P450, family 2, subfamily e, polypeptide 1) [NCBI Gene 13106] {aka CYPIIE1, Cyp2e}, YAP1 (Yes1 associated transcriptional regulator) [NCBI Gene 10413] {aka COB1, YAP, YAP-1, YAP2, YAP65, YKI}, BRD4 (bromodomain containing 4) [NCBI Gene 23476] {aka CAP, CDLS6, FSHRG4, HUNK1, HUNKI, MCAP}, MYC (MYC proto-oncogene, bHLH transcription factor) [NCBI Gene 4609] {aka MRTL, MYCC, bHLHe39, c-Myc}, Stat3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) [NCBI Gene 20848] {aka 1110034C02Rik, Aprf}, CCNB1 (cyclin B1) [NCBI Gene 891] {aka CCNB}, PIK3CB (phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit beta) [NCBI Gene 5291] {aka P110BETA, PI3K, PI3KBETA, PIK3C1}, SOX9 (SRY-box transcription factor 9) [NCBI Gene 6662] {aka CMD1, CMPD1, ENH13, SRA1, SRXX2, SRXY10}, Il6 (interleukin 6) [NCBI Gene 16193] {aka Il-6}, NFE2L2 (NFE2 like bZIP transcription factor 2) [NCBI Gene 4780] {aka IMDDHH, NRF2, Nrf-2}, SREBF1 (sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1) [NCBI Gene 6720] {aka HMD, IFAP2, SREBP1, bHLHd1}, AKT1 (AKT serine/threonine kinase 1) [NCBI Gene 207] {aka AKT, PKB, PKB-ALPHA, PRKBA, RAC, RAC-ALPHA}, CCNE1 (cyclin E1) [NCBI Gene 898] {aka CCNE, pCCNE1}, CDH1 (cadherin 1) [NCBI Gene 999] {aka Arc-1, BCDS1, CD324, CDHE, ECAD, LCAM}, Acta2 (actin alpha 2, smooth muscle, aorta) [NCBI Gene 11475] {aka 0610041G09Rik, Actvs, SMAalpha, SMalphaA, a-SMA, alphaSMA}, HMOX1 (heme oxygenase 1) [NCBI Gene 3162] {aka HMOX1D, HO-1, HSP32, bK286B10}, CDKN3 (cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 3) [NCBI Gene 1033] {aka CDI1, CIP2, KAP, KAP1}, SMARCD1 (SWI/SNF related BAF chromatin remodeling complex subunit D1) [NCBI Gene 6602] {aka BAF60A, CRACD1, CSS11, Rsc6p}, Col1a1 (collagen, type I, alpha 1) [NCBI Gene 12842] {aka Col1a-1, Cola-1, Cola1, Mov-13, Mov13}, SREBF2 (sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 2) [NCBI Gene 6721] {aka SREBP-2, SREBP2, bHLHd2}, SMARCC2 (SWI/SNF related BAF chromatin remodeling complex subunit C2) [NCBI Gene 6601] {aka BAF170, CRACC2, CSS8, Rsc8}, DNAH8 (dynein axonemal heavy chain 8) [NCBI Gene 1769] {aka ATPase, SPGF46, hdhc9}, EPCAM (epithelial cell adhesion molecule) [NCBI Gene 4072] {aka Ber-Ep4, BerEp4, DIAR5, EGP-2, EGP314, EGP40}, SAR1A (secretion associated Ras related GTPase 1A) [NCBI Gene 56681] {aka SAR1, SARA1, Sara, masra2}, E2F4 (E2F transcription factor 4) [NCBI Gene 1874] {aka E2F-4}, Sall4 (spalt like transcription factor 4) [NCBI Gene 99377] {aka 5730441M18Rik, C330011P20Rik, Tex20}, ARID2 (AT-rich interaction domain 2) [NCBI Gene 196528] {aka BAF200, CSS6, SMARCF3, ZIPZAP, p200}, TJP1 (tight junction protein 1) [NCBI Gene 7082] {aka ZO-1}, SPP1 (secreted phosphoprotein 1) [NCBI Gene 6696] {aka BNSP, BSPI, ETA-1, OPN}, IFNA1 (interferon alpha 1) [NCBI Gene 3439] {aka IFL, IFN, IFN-ALPHA, IFN-alphaD, IFNA13, IFNA@}, NODAL (nodal growth differentiation factor) [NCBI Gene 4838] {aka HTX5}, E2F1 (E2F transcription factor 1) [NCBI Gene 1869] {aka E2F-1, RBAP1, RBBP3, RBP3}, BCL2L1 (BCL2 like 1) [NCBI Gene 598] {aka BCL-XL/S, BCL2L, BCLX, Bcl-X, PPP1R52}, RB1 (RB transcriptional corepressor 1) [NCBI Gene 5925] {aka OSRC, PPP1R130, RB, p105-Rb, p110-RB1, pRb}, MMRN1 (multimerin 1) [NCBI Gene 22915] {aka ECM, EMILIN4, GPIa*, MMRN}, BCL2 (BCL2 apoptosis regulator) [NCBI Gene 596] {aka Bcl-2, PPP1R50}, JUNB (JunB proto-oncogene, AP-1 transcription factor subunit) [NCBI Gene 3726] {aka AP-1}, Trp53-ps (transformation related protein 53, pseudogene) [NCBI Gene 22060], SMARCD3 (SWI/SNF related BAF chromatin remodeling complex subunit D3) [NCBI Gene 6604] {aka BAF60C, CRACD3, Rsc6p}, PMAIP1 (phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced protein 1) [NCBI Gene 5366] {aka APR, NOXA}, Acox1 (acyl-Coenzyme A oxidase 1, palmitoyl) [NCBI Gene 11430] {aka AOX, Acox, D130055E20Rik, Paox}, Tgfb1 (transforming growth factor, beta 1) [NCBI Gene 21803] {aka TGF-beta1, TGFbeta1, Tgfb, Tgfb-1}
- **Diseases:** tubular adenocarcinomas (MESH:D000230), gastric, lung and renal cancers (MESH:D013274), Hepatic Fibrosis (MESH:D008103), cirrhosis (MESH:D005355), HCC (MESH:D006528), cancer (MESH:D009369), HBV infection (MESH:D006509), hepatic lipid accumulation (MESH:D011017), tumorigenic (MESH:D002471), pericentral injuries (MESH:C564838), Liver ischemia (MESH:D017093), abdominal trauma (MESH:D000007), mitochondrial dysfunction (MESH:D028361), ischemic (MESH:D002545), NASH (MESH:D005235), metabolic disorders (MESH:D008659), Chronic liver inflammation (MESH:D007249), hepatobiliary carcinogenesis (MESH:D063646), benign steatosis (MESH:D005234), SNF5 deficiency (MESH:D007153), I/R damage (MESH:D015427), necrosis (MESH:D009336), Chronic injury (MESH:D020208), PH (MESH:D004828), Liver Disease (MESH:D008107), gallbladder carcinoma (MESH:D005706), ischemia (MESH:D007511), OIS (MESH:D000074723), atherogenesis (MESH:D050197), CCA (MESH:D018281), metastases (MESH:D009362), NAFLD (MESH:D065626), viral infection (MESH:D014777)
- **Chemicals:** JQ1 (-), CCl4 (MESH:D002251), sorafenib (MESH:D000077157), glucose (MESH:D005947), MPTP (MESH:D015632), Lipid (MESH:D008055), fatty acid (MESH:D005227), TAA (MESH:D013853), nucleotide (MESH:D009711), cholesterol (MESH:D002784), ROS (MESH:D017382), sucrose (MESH:D013395), ATP (MESH:D000255), sterol (MESH:D013261)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Mus musculus (house mouse, species) [taxon 10090], Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast, species) [taxon 4932]
- **Cell lines:** LX-2 — Homo sapiens (Human), Transformed cell line (CVCL_5792)

## Full text

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## Figures

4 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12830369/full.md

## References

99 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12830369/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12830369