BAF complexes cooperate with lineage-restricted transcription factors to establish cell-state-specific regulatory programs
BRG1/BRM-associated factor (BAF) complexes are essential regulators of chromatin organization and cell identity. Genes encoding BAF subunits are among the most frequently mutated in human cancer. Yet, how disruption of a single subunit gives rise to distinct tumor states remains poorly understood. Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (ATRTs) provide a compelling model, as they are uniformly driven by bi-allelic loss of the BAF subunit SMARCB1, yet segregate into distinct molecular subtypes. Using integrated multi-omics profiling of patient-derived ATRT organoids and primary tumor tissues, we show that transcriptional and chromatin accessibility changes upon SMARCB1 reconstitution are directed by subtype- and lineage-specific transcription factor (TF) repertoires. Genome-wide binding and transcriptomic analyses reveal that SMARCB1 reconstitution enables the lineage-specific TF RFX4 to engage regulatory elements and activate neuronal differentiation programs, partially reprogramming ATRT-MYC toward an ATRT-SHH-like identity. Together, these findings demonstrate that SMARCB1 loss disrupts TF-dependent chromatin priming, revealing that the lineage-specific regulatory output of BAF complexes is constrained by the underlying TF repertoire.