Cristina Borin

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is an aggressive cancer of the blood and bone marrow and is a common disease that comprises 9% of all cancers and 30% of pediatric and adolescent cancer cases. In the past decades the survival rate for pediatric ALL patients improved considerably, however many cases of acute leukemia still display poor prognosis, mainly due to uncharacterized therapy resistance mechanisms. 
Epigenetic regulation has been demonstrated to have an essential role in T-cell ALL (T-ALL), and in my project I will dissect the mode of action of Kdm6b (Jmjd3), a dementhylase that removes lysine 27 methylation on histone 3 (H3K27me3). Understanding the mechanism by which KDM6B is hijacked by transcription factors and its function in disease initiation is important to identify and target cancer-specific mechanism in aggressive leukemia cases. 
In addition, the lab has been dissecting the molecular roles of different splicing factors and I will also focus on characterizing and targeting aberrant splicing activity in T-ALL, by studying novel relevant targets realted to the apoptotic process. These studies could enlarge the spectrum of potential drug targets available and help implement our understanding of resistance to therapy in the clinical setting.
 

• Emerging Epigenetic and Posttranslational Mechanisms Controlling Resistance to Glucocorticoids in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Hemasphere, 2023 (PMID: 37359189)
• Oncogenic deubiquitination controls tyrosine kinase signaling and therapy response in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Science advances, 2022 (PMID: 36490346)
   

• Lab address: UZ Gent, MRB2 (entrance 38), Corneel Heymanslaan 10, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
• LinkedIn
• Ntziachristos Lab
• Cristina Borin is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks