Boris knockout caused cognitive decline in mice

The oncoprotein BORIS exhibits high expressions in various human cancer tissues. The knockout of Boris inhibited the progression of colorectal cancer in mice. BORIS is an attractive target for cancer therapy. However the physiological function of BORIS/Boris was not studied thoroughly. It is unclear whether the loss of Boris will lead to illness. Based on the expressions of BORIS and Boris in human and mouse brain, we investigated the existence and function of Boris in brain. In this study, we observed a notable decline of memory in Boris knockout (KO) mice compared to wild-type (WT) mice by behavioral assessments in water maze and novelty recognition tests. The results highlighted the role of Boris in memory. By transcriptome analysis and immunofluorescence detection, we identified the Boris expression in hippocampus and white matter of the mouse brain. Our findings shed light on the role of BORIS in memory.