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The CTCF insulator protein forms an unusual DNA structure by Melissa J MacPherson; Paul D Sadowski is a Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology article available to read on EtoBox.

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## Background The CTCF insulator protein is a highly conserved zinc finger protein that has been implicated in many aspects of gene regulation and nuclear organization. The protein has been hypothesized to organize the human genome by forming DNA loops. ## Results In this paper, we report biochemical evidence to support the role for CTCF in forming DNA loops. We have measured DNA bending by CTCF at the chicken HS4 β-globin FII insulator element __in vitro__ and have observed a unique DNA structure with aberrant electrophoretic mobility which we believe to be a DNA loop. CTCF is able to form this unusual DNA structure at two other binding sites: the __c-myc__ P2 promoter and the chicken F1 lysozyme gene silencer. We also demonstrate that the length though not the sequence of the DNA downstream of the binding site is important for the ability of CTCF to form this unusual DNA structure. We hypothesize that a single CTCF protein molecule is able to act as a "looper" possibly through the use of several of its zinc fingers. ## Conclusions CTCF is able to form an unusual DNA structure through the zinc finger domain of the protein. This unusual DNA structure is formed in a directional mann

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Author

Melissa J MacPherson; Paul D Sadowski

Publisher

BioMed Central; Springer (Biomed Central Ltd.); London: BioMed Central, [2000]-; Springer Science and Business Media LLC (ISSN 1471-2199)

Published

2010

Language

EN

Field

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Life Sciences)