Transcriptional repressor CTCFL also known as BORIS (Brother of Regulator of Imprinted Sites) is a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''CTCFL''
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
.
Function
CCCTC-binding factor (
CTCF), an 11-
zinc finger factor involved in gene regulation, utilizes different zinc fingers to bind varying DNA target sites. CTCF forms methylation-sensitive insulators that regulate
X-chromosome inactivation
X-inactivation (also called Lyonization, after English geneticist Mary Lyon) is a process by which one of the copies of the X chromosome is inactivated in therian female mammals. The inactive X chromosome is silenced by being packaged into ...
. Transcriptional repressor CTCFL (this protein) is a
paralog of CTCF and appears to be expressed primarily in the cytoplasm of
spermatocyte
Spermatocytes are a type of male gametocyte in animals. They derive from immature germ cells called spermatogonia. They are found in the testis, in a structure known as the seminiferous tubules. There are two types of spermatocytes, primary and s ...
s, unlike CTCF which is expressed primarily in the nucleus of somatic cells. CTCF and CTCFL are normally expressed in a mutually exclusive pattern that correlates with resetting of methylation marks during male germ cell differentiation.
References
Further reading
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External links
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