The role of ETV6-RUNX1 fusion protein in the sensitivity of leukemic cells to L-asparaginase

Translocation t(12;21) with the presence of the fusion gene ETV6-RUNX1 (TEL-AML1) is the most common chromosomal aberration found in acute lymphoblastic leukemia in childhood. The occurrence of the ETV6-RUNX1 is associated with excellent prognosis and high sensitivity to the treatment with the enzyme L-asparaginase (ASNase). Resistance to the drug aggravates the outlook of the patient and increases the risk of treatment failure, therefore, the CLIP working group has been for a long time involved in the identification of the mechanism of action of ASNase and the origin of the resistance to it. This thesis follows previous findings of the group and is devoted to the analysis of the importance of ETV6-RUNX1 and signalization and metabolic changes accompanying shifts in the L-asparaginase resistance. In the first part of the thesis, the knockout clones with stable increased resistance to ASNase have been established thanks to the CRISPR/Cas9 system, which created frameshift in the fusion gene. The accomplishment in this regard and removal of the fusion protein was confirmed on the level of DNA, mRNA a protein expression. The presence of other significant chromosomal aberrations affection the sensitivity to ASNase was ruled out by the means of SNP analysis. In the second part of the project, the signalization..