Fig. 1

Role of BORIS in tumorigenesis. Increased expression of BORIS, shifts the competition between CTCF and BORIS for binding to CTCF DNA-binding site in favor of BORIS. This leads to the replacement of CTCF by BORIS at promoters of some cancer-testis (CT) genes including MAGE-A1, MAGE-A2, MAGE-A3, MAGE-A4, MAGE-B1, MAGE-B4, GAGE-3-8, RAGE-2, NY-ESO-1 (CTAG1B), LAGE-1 (CTAG2), FerT and TSP50, and some non-CT genes such as BRCA1, Oct-3/4 (POU5F1), MYC, Rb2/p130, SBSN, and hTERT, and androgen, progesterone and estrogen receptors. Expression of target genes leads to cancer progression via activation of the network of CT genes, inhibition of apoptosis, induced cell growth, and increased proliferation and invasiveness of cancer cells