BORIS Proteins and Enzymes

BORIS (Brother of the Regulator of Imprinted Sites) also known as CCTC-binding factor-like protein, is normally only expressed in the testis and expressed in a mutually exclusive manner with CTCF during male germ cell development. However, previous studies have shown that BORIS is abnormally activated in a wide range of human cancers. Expression of BORIS in normally BORIS-negative cells promotes cell growth that may lead to transformation. BORIS maps to the cancer-associated amplification region thought to contain an oncogene or dominant-immortalizing gene. BORIS is a candidate protein for the epigenetic reprogramming factor acting in the male germ line. BORIS is found in both the nucleus and cytoplasm.