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pubmed:abstractText |
In mammals, X-inactivation silences one of two female X chromosomes. Silencing depends on the noncoding gene, Xist (inactive X-specific transcript), and is blocked by the antisense gene, Tsix. Deleting the choice/imprinting center in Tsix affects X-chromosome selection. Here, we identify the insulator and transcription factor, CTCF, as a candidate trans-acting factor for X-chromosome selection. The choice/imprinting center contains tandem CTCF binding sites that function in an enhancer-blocking assay. In vitro binding is reduced by CpG methylation and abolished by including non-CpG methylation. We postulate that Tsix and CTCF together establish a regulatable epigenetic switch for X-inactivation.
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pubmed:affiliation |
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
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