Abstract:
Alternative splicing (AS) is a process by which the transcriptome diversity, and thereby the proteome diversity, is augmented by splicing or joining together different parts of the pre-mRNA in eukaryotic cells. AS at different splice sites is regulated by multiple cis-acting elements and trans-acting factors. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a clonal myeloproliferative disease in which there is a translocation between the long arms of chromosome 9 and chromosome 22, represented as t(9;22) (q34;q11). This translocation results in the formation of a BCR-ABL fusion gene. Hence it is not surprising that resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which inhibit BCR-ABL activity, has become a critical problem in the clinical treatment of CML. Using second generation high-throughput sequencing technology, it has been found that AS abnormalities are closely related to the occurrence, progression, drug resistance, and immune escape of CML. This paper reviews the research related to AS and CML resistance and investigates the potential causes of CML resistance. Drug resistance mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets are also reviewed.