BRM (SNF2α) expression is concomitant to the onset of vasculogenesis in early mouse postimplantation development

In mammals, the SWI/SNF complex is involved in chromatin remodelling in a wide range of cellular events for which regulatory factors require access to DNA. In the present study, we analyzed in early postimplantation mouse embryos the expression pattern of BRM (SNF2alpha) and BRG1 (SNF2beta), which are both ATPase subunits of this complex. Contrarily to the previous studies conducted in adult mice, showing the ubiquitous and overlapping expressions of BRM and BRG1, we show that BRM expression is restricted to mesodermal tissues involved in early vasculogenesis and heart morphogenesis.