Case Report
CTCFL (BORIS) mRNA Expression in a Peripheral
Giant Cell Granuloma of the Oral Cavity
Graciela Zambrano-Galván,
1
Miguel Reyes-Romero,
2
Ronell Bologna-Molina,
3
Oscar Eduardo Almeda-Ojeda,
3
and Obed Lemus-Rojero
4
1
Laboratory of Molecular Stomatology, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Ju´ arez de Estado de Durango,
Predio Canoas Street, 34067 Durango, Mexico
2
Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Nutrition, Universidad Ju´ arez de Estado del Durango,
Universidad Avenue, 34000 Durango, Mexico
3
Laboratory of Pathology and Bucal Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Ju´ arez del Estado de Durango,
Predio Canoas Street, 34067 Durango, Mexico
4
Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Aut´ onoma de Zacatecas, Begonias Street, Guadalupe, 98600 Zacatecas, Mexico
Correspondence should be addressed to Graciela Zambrano-Galv´ an; gzambrano@ujed.mx
Received 1 May 2014; Accepted 23 June 2014; Published 10 July 2014
Academic Editor: Tommaso Lombardi
Copyright © 2014 Graciela Zambrano-Galv´ an et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Peripheral giant cell granuloma (PGCG) is a relatively common benign reactive lesion of the oral cavity which can occur at any age.
CTCFL/BORIS (CTCF like/Brother of the Regulator of Imprinted Sites) and CTCF (CCCTC-binding factor) are paralogous genes
with an important role in the regulation of gene expression, genomic imprinting, and nuclear chromatin insulators regulation.
BORIS expression promotes cell immortalization and growth while CTCF has tumor suppressor activity; the expression pattern
may refect the reverse transcription silencing of BORIS. Te aim of this work was to describe a histopathological and molecular
approach of an 8-year-old pediatric male patient with PGCG diagnosis. It was observed that the PGCG under study expressed CTCF
as well as BORIS mRNAs alongside with the housekeeping gene GAPDH, which may be related to possible genetic and epigenetic
changes in normal cells of oral cavity.
1. Introduction
Peripheral giant cell granuloma (PGCG) is a relatively com-
mon benign reactive lesion of the oral cavity which can occur
at any age; it consists of a sof tissue injury mainly originating
from the periosteum or periodontal membrane following
local irritation or chronic trauma. Te main clinical feature
of PGCG is a red-purple nodule located in the region of the
gums or the alveolar edentulous, mainly in the lower jaw
[1, 2].
PGCC is of osteoclastic nature and is not considered
a true neoplasm. It has been termed as PGCG “abnor-
mal reparative”; however, this function has not been fully
established, and its osteoclastic activity seems doubtful [3].
Although the presence of calcitonin membrane receptors,
as well as osteoclastic activity, has been demonstrated by
immunohistochemistry [4, 5], some authors report that the
lesion is formed by cells of the fagocito mononuclear system
[6]. In this respect, some authors propose that PGCG is a
process in which the fbroblasts overexpress cytokines and
growth factors, which induce or activate macrophages to
become giant cells [7].
CTCF (CCCTC-binding factor) is an essential protein
encoded by the gene of the same name, which is ubiquitously
expressed and plays an important role in the regulation of
gene expression; the multiple activities of CTCF in mam-
malians include transcriptional activation and repression,
gene silencing, constitutive chromatin insulation, and func-
tional reading of imprinted states, reasons for which it has
been named the master weaver of the genome [8]. CTCF
has been proposed as a novel tumor suppressor gene because
the CTCF expression suppresses tumor cell proliferation [9].
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Case Reports in Dentistry
Volume 2014, Article ID 792615, 4 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/792615