CTCFL/BORIS is a methylation-independent DNA-binding protein that preferentially binds to the paternal H19 differentially methylated region.

ABSTRACT: The CTCF paralog BORIS (brother of the regulator of imprinted sites) is an insulator DNA-binding protein thought to play a role in chromatin organization and gene expression. Under normal physiologic conditions, BORIS is predominantly expressed during embryonic male germ cell development; however, it is also expressed in tumors and tumor cell lines and, as such, has been classified as a cancer-germline or cancer-testis gene. It has been suggested that BORIS may be a pro-proliferative factor, whereas CTCF favors antiproliferation. BORIS and CTCF share similar zinc finger DNA-binding domains and seem to bind to identical target sequences. Thus, one critical question is the mechanism governing the DNA-binding specificity of these two proteins when both are present in tumor cells. Chromatin im

SUBMITTER: Nguyen P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2731476 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature