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Schmitz M, Kaltheuner IH, Anand K, Düster R, Moecking J, Monastyrskyi A, Duckett DR, Roush WR, Geyer M. The reversible inhibitor SR-4835 binds Cdk12/cyclin K in a noncanonical G-loop conformation. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:105501. [PMID: 38016516 PMCID: PMC10767194 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) has evolved as an emerging anticancer strategy. In addition to the cell cycle-regulating CDKs, the transcriptional kinases Cdk12 and Cdk13 have become the focus of interest as they mediate a variety of functions, including the transition from transcription initiation to elongation and termination, precursor mRNA splicing, and intronic polyadenylation. Here, we determine the crystal structure of the small molecular inhibitor SR-4835 bound to the Cdk12/cyclin K complex at 2.68 Å resolution. The compound's benzimidazole moiety is embedded in a unique hydrogen bond network mediated by the kinase hinge region with flanking hydroxy groups of the Y815 and D819 side chains. Whereas the SR-4835 head group targets the adenine-binding pocket, the kinase's glycine-rich loop is shifted down toward the activation loop. Additionally, the αC-helix adopts an inward conformation, and the phosphorylated T-loop threonine interacts with all three canonical arginines, a hallmark of CDK activation that is altered in Cdk12 and Cdk13. Dose-response inhibition measurements with recombinant CMGC kinases show that SR-4835 is highly specific for Cdk12 and Cdk13 following a 10-fold lower potency for Cdk10. Whereas other CDK-targeting compounds exhibit tighter binding affinities and higher potencies for kinase inhibition, SR-4835 can be considered a selective transcription elongation antagonist. Our results provide the basis for a rational improvement of SR-4835 toward Cdk12 inhibition and a gain in selectivity over other transcription regulating CDKs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kanchan Anand
- Institute of Structural Biology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Robert Düster
- Institute of Structural Biology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Jonas Moecking
- Institute of Structural Biology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Derek R Duckett
- Department of Drug Discovery, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - William R Roush
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter, Florida, USA
| | - Matthias Geyer
- Institute of Structural Biology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
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2
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Qiu M, Yin Z, Wang H, Lei L, Li C, Cui Y, Dai R, Yang P, Xiang Y, Li Q, Lv J, Hu Z, Chen M, Zhou HB, Fang P, Xiao R, Liang K. CDK12 and Integrator-PP2A complex modulates LEO1 phosphorylation for processive transcription elongation. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf8698. [PMID: 37205756 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf8698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) interacts with cyclin K to form a functional nuclear kinase that promotes processive transcription elongation through phosphorylation of the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II (Pol II). To gain a comprehensive understanding of CDK12's cellular function, we used chemical genetic and phosphoproteomic screening to identify a landscape of nuclear human CDK12 substrates, including regulators of transcription, chromatin organization, and RNA splicing. We further validated LEO1, a subunit of the polymerase-associated factor 1 complex (PAF1C), as a bona fide cellular substrate of CDK12. Acute depletion of LEO1, or substituting LEO1 phosphorylation sites with alanine, attenuated PAF1C association with elongating Pol II and impaired processive transcription elongation. Moreover, we discovered that LEO1 interacts with and is dephosphorylated by the Integrator-PP2A complex (INTAC) and that INTAC depletion promotes the association of PAF1C with Pol II. Together, this study reveals an uncharacterized role for CDK12 and INTAC in regulating LEO1 phosphorylation, providing important insights into gene transcription and its regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Qiu
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Zhinang Yin
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Honghong Wang
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Lingyu Lei
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Conghui Li
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Yali Cui
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Rong Dai
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Peiyuan Yang
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Ying Xiang
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Qiuzi Li
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Junhui Lv
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Zhuang Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Hubei Province Engineering and Technology Research Center for Fluorinated Pharmaceuticals, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Min Chen
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Hai-Bing Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Hubei Province Engineering and Technology Research Center for Fluorinated Pharmaceuticals, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Pingping Fang
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Ruijing Xiao
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - Kaiwei Liang
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Allergy and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
- TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, TaiKang Medical School, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China
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3
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Wen T, Wang J, Lu R, Tan S, Li P, Yao X, Liu H, Yi Z, Li L, Liu S, Gao P, Qian H, Xie G, Ma F. Development, validation, and evaluation of a deep learning model to screen cyclin-dependent kinase 12 inhibitors in cancers. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 250:115199. [PMID: 36827953 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
Deep learning-based in silico alternatives have been demonstrated to be of significant importance in the acceleration of the drug discovery process and enhancement of success rates. Cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) is a transcription-related cyclin-dependent kinase that may act as a biomarker and therapeutic target for cancers. However, currently, there is no high selective CDK12 inhibitor in clinical development and the identification of new specific CDK12 inhibitors has become increasingly challenging due to their similarity with CDK13. In this study, we developed a virtual screening workflow that combines deep learning with virtual screening tools and can be applied rapidly to millions of molecules. We designed a Transformer architecture Drug-Target Interaction (DTI) model with dual-branched self-supervised pre-trained molecular graph models and protein sequence models. Our predictive model produced satisfactory predictions for various targets, including CDK12, with several novel hits. We screened a large compound library consisting of 4.5 million drug-like molecules and recommended a list of potential CDK12 inhibitors for further experimental testing. In kinase assay, compared to the positive CDK12 inhibitor THZ531, the compounds CICAMPA-01, 02, 03 displayed more effective inhibition of CDK12, up to three times as much as THZ531. The compounds CICAMPA-03, 05, 04, 07 showed less inhibition of CDK13 compare to THZ531. In vitro, the IC50 of CICAMPA-01, 04, 05, 06, 09 was less than 3 μM in the HER2 positive CDK12 amplification breast cancer cell line BT-474. Overall, this study provides a highly efficient and end-to-end deep learning protocol, in conjunction with molecular docking, for discovering CDK12 inhibitors in cancers. Additionally, we disclose five novel CDK12 inhibitors. These results may accelerate the discovery of novel chemical-class drugs for cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingyu Wen
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center / National Clinical Research Center for Cancer / Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
| | - Jun Wang
- Ping An Healthcare Technology, Beijing, 100027, China
| | - Ruiqiang Lu
- Ping An Healthcare Technology, Beijing, 100027, China; College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, China
| | - Shuoyan Tan
- Ping An Healthcare Technology, Beijing, 100027, China; College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, China
| | - Pengyong Li
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, 710126, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xiaojun Yao
- College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, China; State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicines, Macau University of Science and Technology, 999078, Macau
| | - Huanxiang Liu
- Faculty of Applied Science, Macao Polytechnic University, 999078, Macau
| | - Zongbi Yi
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center / National Clinical Research Center for Cancer / Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China; Department of Radiation and Medical Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei, China
| | - Lixi Li
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center / National Clinical Research Center for Cancer / Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
| | - Shuning Liu
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center / National Clinical Research Center for Cancer / Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
| | - Peng Gao
- Ping An Healthcare Technology, Beijing, 100027, China
| | - Haili Qian
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China.
| | - Guotong Xie
- Ping An Healthcare Technology, Beijing, 100027, China; Ping An Health Cloud Company Limited, Beijing, 100027, China; Ping An International Smart City Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing, 100027, China.
| | - Fei Ma
- Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center / National Clinical Research Center for Cancer / Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China.
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4
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Wu W, Yu S, Yu X. Transcription-associated cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) as a potential target for cancer therapy. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2023; 1878:188842. [PMID: 36460141 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2022.188842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12), a transcription-related cyclin dependent kinase (CDK), plays a momentous part in multitudinous biological functions, such as replication, transcription initiation to elongation and termination, precursor mRNA (pre-mRNA) splicing, intron polyadenylation (IPA), and translation. CDK12 can act as a tumour suppressor or oncogene in disparate cellular environments, and its dysregulation likely provokes tumorigenesis. A comprehensive understanding of CDK12 will tremendously facilitate the exploitation of novel tactics for the treatment and precaution of cancer. Currently, CDK12 inhibitors are nonspecific and nonselective, which profoundly hinders the pharmacological target validation and drug exploitation process. Herein, we summarize the newly comprehension of the biological functions of CDK12 with a focus on recently emerged advancements of CDK12-associated therapeutic approaches in cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wence Wu
- Departments of Orthopedics, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory for Carcinogenesis and Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Shengji Yu
- Departments of Orthopedics, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
| | - Xiying Yu
- Department of Etiology and Carcinogenesis, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory for Carcinogenesis and Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
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5
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Yang J, Chang Y, Tien JCY, Wang Z, Zhou Y, Zhang P, Huang W, Vo J, Apel IJ, Wang C, Zeng VZ, Cheng Y, Li S, Wang GX, Chinnaiyan AM, Ding K. Discovery of a Highly Potent and Selective Dual PROTAC Degrader of CDK12 and CDK13. J Med Chem 2022; 65:11066-11083. [PMID: 35938508 PMCID: PMC9876424 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Selective degradation of the cyclin-dependent kinases 12 and 13 (CDK12/13) presents a novel therapeutic opportunity for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), but there is still a lack of dual CDK12/13 degraders. Here, we report the discovery of the first series of highly potent and selective dual CDK12/13 degraders by employing the proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology. The optimal compound 7f effectively degraded CDK12 and CDK13 with DC50 values of 2.2 and 2.1 nM, respectively, in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Global proteomic profiling demonstrated the target selectivity of 7f. In vitro, 7f suppressed expression of core DNA damage response (DDR) genes in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Further, 7f markedly inhibited proliferation of multiple TNBC cell lines including MFM223, with an IC50 value of 47 nM. Importantly, 7f displayed a significantly improved antiproliferative activity compared to the structurally similar inhibitor 4, suggesting the potential advantage of a CDK12/13 degrader for TNBC targeted therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianzhang Yang
- International
Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization
and Innovative Drug Discovery of Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE),
Guangzhou City Key Laboratory of Precision Chemical Drug Development,
College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, 855 Xingye Avenue East, Guangzhou 511400, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yu Chang
- International
Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization
and Innovative Drug Discovery of Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE),
Guangzhou City Key Laboratory of Precision Chemical Drug Development,
College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, 855 Xingye Avenue East, Guangzhou 511400, People’s Republic of China
- Michigan
Center for Translational Pathology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Jean Ching-Yi Tien
- Michigan
Center for Translational Pathology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Department
of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Zhen Wang
- State
Key Laboratory of Bioorganic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, #345 Ling Ling Road, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yang Zhou
- International
Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization
and Innovative Drug Discovery of Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE),
Guangzhou City Key Laboratory of Precision Chemical Drug Development,
College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, 855 Xingye Avenue East, Guangzhou 511400, People’s Republic of China
| | - Pujuan Zhang
- State
Key Laboratory of Bioorganic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, #345 Ling Ling Road, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China
| | - Weixue Huang
- State
Key Laboratory of Bioorganic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, #345 Ling Ling Road, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China
| | - Josh Vo
- Michigan
Center for Translational Pathology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Ingrid J. Apel
- Michigan
Center for Translational Pathology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Cynthia Wang
- Michigan
Center for Translational Pathology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Victoria Zhixuan Zeng
- Michigan
Center for Translational Pathology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Yunhui Cheng
- Michigan
Center for Translational Pathology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Shuqin Li
- Michigan
Center for Translational Pathology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - George Xiaoju Wang
- Michigan
Center for Translational Pathology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Department
of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Department
of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Arul M. Chinnaiyan
- Michigan
Center for Translational Pathology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Department
of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Department
of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Howard Hughes
Medical Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Department
of Urology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Ke Ding
- International
Cooperative Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization
and Innovative Drug Discovery of Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE),
Guangzhou City Key Laboratory of Precision Chemical Drug Development,
College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, 855 Xingye Avenue East, Guangzhou 511400, People’s Republic of China
- State
Key Laboratory of Bioorganic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, #345 Ling Ling Road, Shanghai 200032, People’s Republic of China
- Institute
of Basic Medicine and Cancer (IBMC), Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310022, People’s Republic of China
- The
First Affiliated Hospital (Huaqiao Hospital), Jinan University, 601
Huangpu Avenue West, Guangzhou 510632, China
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6
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Magnuson B, Bedi K, Narayanan IV, Bartkowiak B, Blinkiewicz H, Paulsen MT, Greenleaf A, Ljungman M. CDK12 regulates co-transcriptional splicing and RNA turnover in human cells. iScience 2022; 25:105030. [PMID: 36111258 PMCID: PMC9468413 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The cyclin-dependent kinase CDK12 has garnered interest as a cancer therapeutic target as DNA damage response genes are particularly suppressed by loss of CDK12 activity. In this study, we assessed the acute effects of CDK12 inhibition on transcription and RNA processing using nascent RNA Bru-seq and BruChase-seq. Acute transcriptional changes were overall small after CDK12 inhibition but over 600 genes showed intragenic premature termination, including DNA repair and cell cycle genes. Furthermore, many genes showed reduced transcriptional readthrough past the end of genes in the absence of CDK12 activity. RNA turnover was dramatically affected by CDK12 inhibition and importantly, caused increased degradation of many transcripts from DNA damage response genes. We also show that co-transcriptional splicing was suppressed by CDK12 inhibition. Taken together, these studies reveal the roles of CDK12 in regulating transcription elongation, transcription termination, co-transcriptional splicing, and RNA turnover. Over 600 genes showed prematurely terminated transcription when CDK12 was inhibited CDK12 promotes transcriptional readthrough past transcription end sites (TESs) CDK12 promotes splicing and affects transcript stability
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Magnuson
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Rogel Cancer Center and Center for RNA Biomedicine, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Karan Bedi
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Rogel Cancer Center and Center for RNA Biomedicine, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | | | - Bartlomiej Bartkowiak
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Hailey Blinkiewicz
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Michelle T. Paulsen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Arno Greenleaf
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Mats Ljungman
- Rogel Cancer Center and Center for RNA Biomedicine, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Corresponding author
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7
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Lei P, Zhang J, Liao P, Ren C, Wang J, Wang Y. Current progress and novel strategies that target CDK12 for drug discovery. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 240:114603. [PMID: 35868123 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
CDK12 is a cyclin-dependent kinase that plays critical roles in DNA replication, transcription, mRNA splicing, and DNA damage repair. CDK12 genomic changes, including mutation, amplification, deletion, and fusion, lead to various cancers, such as colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, and ovarian cancer. An increasing number of CDK12 inhibitors have been reported since CDK12 was identified as a biomarker and cancer therapeutic target. A major challenge lies in that CDK12 and CDK13 share highly similar sequences, which leads to great difficulties in the development of highly selective CDK12 inhibitors. In recent years, great efforts were made in developing selective CDK12 blockers. Techniques including PROTAC and molecular glue degraders were also applied to facilitate their development. Also, the drug combination strategy of CDK12 small molecule inhibitors were studied. This review discusses the latest studies on CDK12 inhibitors and analyzes their structure-activity relationships, shedding light on their further development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Lei
- Targeted Tracer Research and Development Laboratory, Institute of Respiratory Health, Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, Joint Research Institution of Altitude Health, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China; State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Jifa Zhang
- Targeted Tracer Research and Development Laboratory, Institute of Respiratory Health, Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, Joint Research Institution of Altitude Health, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China; State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China; Tianfu Jincheng Laboratory, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Peiyu Liao
- School of Pharmacy, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, 610500, Sichuan, China
| | - Changyu Ren
- Department of Pharmacy, Chengdu Fifth People's Hospital, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Jiaxing Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, 38163, Tennessee, United States
| | - Yuxi Wang
- Targeted Tracer Research and Development Laboratory, Institute of Respiratory Health, Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, Joint Research Institution of Altitude Health, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China; State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China; Tianfu Jincheng Laboratory, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.
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8
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Guo X, Chen H, Zhou Y, Shen L, Wu S, Chen Y. Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibition and its intersection with immunotherapy in breast cancer: more than CDK4/6 inhibition. Expert Opin Investig Drugs 2022; 31:933-944. [PMID: 35786092 DOI: 10.1080/13543784.2022.2097067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) have had clinical success in treating hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative metastatic breast cancer. Notably, CDK4/6i have expanded to the neoadjuvant setting for early breast cancer and other cancer types and potently synergize with immunotherapy. Other CDKs, including CDK7, CDK9, and CDK12/13, mainly function in transcriptional processes as well as cell cycle regulation, RNA splicing, and DNA damage response. Inhibiting these CDKs aids in suppressing tumors, reversing drug resistance, increasing drug sensitivity, and enhancing anti-tumor immunity in breast cancer. AREAS COVERED We reviewed the applications of CDK4/6i, CDK7i, CDK9i and CDK12/13i for various breast cancer subtypes and their potentials for combination with immunotherapy. A literature search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science was conducted in April 2022. EXPERT OPINION The use of CDK4/6i represents a major milestone in breast cancer treatment. Moreover, transcription-related CDKs play critical roles in tumor development and are promising therapeutic targets for breast cancer. Some relevant clinical studies are underway. More specific and efficient CDKis will undoubtedly be developed and clinically tested. Characterization of their immune-priming effects will promote the development of combination therapies consisting of CDKi and immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianan Guo
- Department of Breast Surgery and Oncology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Huihui Chen
- Department of Breast Surgery and Oncology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yunxiang Zhou
- Department of Breast Surgery and Oncology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Lu Shen
- Department of Breast Surgery and Oncology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Shijie Wu
- Department of Breast Surgery and Oncology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yiding Chen
- Department of Breast Surgery and Oncology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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9
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Karagiannakos A, Adamaki M, Tsintarakis A, Vojtesek B, Fåhraeus R, Zoumpourlis V, Karakostis K. Targeting Oncogenic Pathways in the Era of Personalized Oncology: A Systemic Analysis Reveals Highly Mutated Signaling Pathways in Cancer Patients and Potential Therapeutic Targets. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14030664. [PMID: 35158934 PMCID: PMC8833388 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14030664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. One of the main hallmarks in cancer is the functional deregulation of crucial molecular pathways via driver genetic events that lead to abnormal gene expression, giving cells a selective growth advantage. Driver events are defined as mutations, fusions and copy number alterations that are causally implicated in oncogenesis. Molecular analysis on tissues that have originated from a wide range of anatomical areas has shown that mutations in different members of several pathways are implicated in different cancer types. In recent decades, significant efforts have been made to incorporate this knowledge into daily medical practice, providing substantial insight towards clinical diagnosis and personalized therapies. However, since there is still a strong need for more effective drug development, a deep understanding of the involved signaling mechanisms and the interconnections between these pathways is highly anticipated. Here, we perform a systemic analysis on cancer patients included in the Pan-Cancer Atlas project, with the aim to select the ten most highly mutated signaling pathways (p53, RTK-RAS, lipids metabolism, PI-3-Kinase/Akt, ubiquitination, b-catenin/Wnt, Notch, cell cycle, homology directed repair (HDR) and splicing) and to provide a detailed description of each pathway, along with the corresponding therapeutic applications currently being developed or applied. The ultimate scope is to review the current knowledge on highly mutated pathways and to address the attractive perspectives arising from ongoing experimental studies for the clinical implementation of personalized medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandros Karagiannakos
- Biomedical Applications Unit, Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF), 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, 11635 Athens, Greece; (A.K.); (M.A.); (A.T.)
| | - Maria Adamaki
- Biomedical Applications Unit, Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF), 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, 11635 Athens, Greece; (A.K.); (M.A.); (A.T.)
| | - Antonis Tsintarakis
- Biomedical Applications Unit, Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF), 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, 11635 Athens, Greece; (A.K.); (M.A.); (A.T.)
| | - Borek Vojtesek
- Research Centre for Applied Molecular Oncology (RECAMO), Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, 65653 Brno, Czech Republic; (B.V.); (R.F.)
| | - Robin Fåhraeus
- Research Centre for Applied Molecular Oncology (RECAMO), Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, 65653 Brno, Czech Republic; (B.V.); (R.F.)
- Inserm UMRS1131, Institut de Génétique Moléculaire, Université Paris 7, Hôpital St. Louis, F-75010 Paris, France
- Department of Medical Biosciences, Umeå University, 90185 Umeå, Sweden
- International Centre for Cancer Vaccine Science, University of Gdansk, 80-822 Gdansk, Poland
| | - Vassilis Zoumpourlis
- Biomedical Applications Unit, Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF), 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, 11635 Athens, Greece; (A.K.); (M.A.); (A.T.)
- Correspondence: (V.Z.); (K.K.)
| | - Konstantinos Karakostis
- Biomedical Applications Unit, Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF), 48 Vassileos Constantinou Avenue, 11635 Athens, Greece; (A.K.); (M.A.); (A.T.)
- Inserm UMRS1131, Institut de Génétique Moléculaire, Université Paris 7, Hôpital St. Louis, F-75010 Paris, France
- Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
- Correspondence: (V.Z.); (K.K.)
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10
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Disrupting the Molecular Pathway in Myotonic Dystrophy. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222413225. [PMID: 34948025 PMCID: PMC8708683 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222413225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Myotonic dystrophy is the most common muscular dystrophy in adults. It consists of two forms: type 1 (DM1) and type 2 (DM2). DM1 is associated with a trinucleotide repeat expansion mutation, which is transcribed but not translated into protein. The mutant RNA remains in the nucleus, which leads to a series of downstream abnormalities. DM1 is widely considered to be an RNA-based disorder. Thus, we consider three areas of the RNA pathway that may offer targeting opportunities to disrupt the production, stability, and degradation of the mutant RNA.
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11
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CDK9 keeps RNA polymerase II on track. Cell Mol Life Sci 2021; 78:5543-5567. [PMID: 34146121 PMCID: PMC8257543 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-021-03878-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Revised: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9), the kinase component of positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb), is essential for transcription of most protein-coding genes by RNA polymerase II (RNAPII). By releasing promoter-proximally paused RNAPII into gene bodies, CDK9 controls the entry of RNAPII into productive elongation and is, therefore, critical for efficient synthesis of full-length messenger (m)RNAs. In recent years, new players involved in P-TEFb-dependent processes have been identified and an important function of CDK9 in coordinating elongation with transcription initiation and termination has been unveiled. As the regulatory functions of CDK9 in gene expression continue to expand, a number of human pathologies, including cancers, have been associated with aberrant CDK9 activity, underscoring the need to properly regulate CDK9. Here, I provide an overview of CDK9 function and regulation, with an emphasis on CDK9 dysregulation in human diseases.
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12
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The promise and current status of CDK12/13 inhibition for the treatment of cancer. Future Med Chem 2020; 13:117-141. [PMID: 33295810 DOI: 10.4155/fmc-2020-0240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
CDK12 and CDK13 are Ser/Thr protein kinases that regulate transcription and co-transcriptional processes. Genetic silencing of CDK12 is associated with genomic instability in a variety of cancers, including difficult-to-treat breast, ovarian, colorectal, brain and pancreatic cancers, and is synthetic lethal with PARP, MYC or EWS/FLI inhibition. CDK13 is amplified in hepatocellular carcinoma. Consequently, selective CDK12/13 inhibitors constitute powerful research tools as well as promising anti-cancer therapeutics, either alone or in combination therapy. Herein the authors discuss the role of CDK12 and CDK13 in normal and cancer cells, describe their utility as a biomarker and therapeutic target, review the medicinal chemistry optimization of existing CDK12/13 inhibitors and outline strategies for the rational design of CDK12/13 selective inhibitors.
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13
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Selective inhibition of CDK7 reveals high-confidence targets and new models for TFIIH function in transcription. Genes Dev 2020; 34:1452-1473. [PMID: 33060135 PMCID: PMC7608751 DOI: 10.1101/gad.341545.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
In this study, Rimel et al. set out to investigate the roles of CDK7 in transcription. Using SILAC-based phosphoproteomics with transcriptomics and biochemical assays, the authors identified high-confidence CDK7 substrates, a surprisingly widespread requirement for CDK7 activity in splicing, and unexpected aspects of CDK7 kinase regulation that involve its association with TFIIH. CDK7 associates with the 10-subunit TFIIH complex and regulates transcription by phosphorylating the C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII). Few additional CDK7 substrates are known. Here, using the covalent inhibitor SY-351 and quantitative phosphoproteomics, we identified CDK7 kinase substrates in human cells. Among hundreds of high-confidence targets, the vast majority are unique to CDK7 (i.e., distinct from other transcription-associated kinases), with a subset that suggest novel cellular functions. Transcription-associated factors were predominant CDK7 substrates, including SF3B1, U2AF2, and other splicing components. Accordingly, widespread and diverse splicing defects, such as alternative exon inclusion and intron retention, were characterized in CDK7-inhibited cells. Combined with biochemical assays, we establish that CDK7 directly activates other transcription-associated kinases CDK9, CDK12, and CDK13, invoking a “master regulator” role in transcription. We further demonstrate that TFIIH restricts CDK7 kinase function to the RNAPII CTD, whereas other substrates (e.g., SPT5 and SF3B1) are phosphorylated by the three-subunit CDK-activating kinase (CAK; CCNH, MAT1, and CDK7). These results suggest new models for CDK7 function in transcription and implicate CAK dissociation from TFIIH as essential for kinase activation. This straightforward regulatory strategy ensures CDK7 activation is spatially and temporally linked to transcription, and may apply toward other transcription-associated kinases.
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14
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CDK12: a potential therapeutic target in cancer. Drug Discov Today 2020; 25:2257-2267. [PMID: 33038524 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2020.09.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Revised: 08/30/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 12 engages in diversified biological functions, from transcription, post-transcriptional modification, cell cycle, and translation to cellular proliferation. Moreover, it regulates the expression of cancer-related genes involved in DNA damage response (DDR) and replication, which are responsible for maintaining genomic stability. CDK12 emerges as an oncogene or tumor suppressor in different cellular contexts, where its dysregulation results in tumorigenesis. Current CDK12 inhibitors are nonselective, which impedes the process of pharmacological target validation and drug development. Herein, we discuss the latest understanding of the biological roles of CDK12 in cancers and provide molecular analyses of CDK12 inhibitors to guide the rational design of selective inhibitors.
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15
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Tellier M, Zaborowska J, Caizzi L, Mohammad E, Velychko T, Schwalb B, Ferrer-Vicens I, Blears D, Nojima T, Cramer P, Murphy S. CDK12 globally stimulates RNA polymerase II transcription elongation and carboxyl-terminal domain phosphorylation. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:7712-7727. [PMID: 32805052 PMCID: PMC7641311 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Revised: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) phosphorylates the carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II (pol II) but its roles in transcription beyond the expression of DNA damage response genes remain unclear. Here, we have used TT-seq and mNET-seq to monitor the direct effects of rapid CDK12 inhibition on transcription activity and CTD phosphorylation in human cells. CDK12 inhibition causes a genome-wide defect in transcription elongation and a global reduction of CTD Ser2 and Ser5 phosphorylation. The elongation defect is explained by the loss of the elongation factors LEO1 and CDC73, part of PAF1 complex, and SPT6 from the newly-elongating pol II. Our results indicate that CDK12 is a general activator of pol II transcription elongation and indicate that it targets both Ser2 and Ser5 residues of the pol II CTD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Tellier
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, UK
| | - Justyna Zaborowska
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, UK
| | - Livia Caizzi
- Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Molecular Biology, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Eusra Mohammad
- Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Molecular Biology, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Taras Velychko
- Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Molecular Biology, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Björn Schwalb
- Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Molecular Biology, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ivan Ferrer-Vicens
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, UK
| | - Daniel Blears
- Mechanisms of Transcription Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Takayuki Nojima
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, UK
| | - Patrick Cramer
- Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Molecular Biology, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Shona Murphy
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RE, UK
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16
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Liu H, Liu K, Dong Z. Targeting CDK12 for Cancer Therapy: Function, Mechanism, and Drug Discovery. Cancer Res 2020; 81:18-26. [PMID: 32958547 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-20-2245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Revised: 08/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) is a member of the CDK family of proteins (CDK) and is critical for cancer development. Years of study into CDK12 have generated much information regarding the intricacy of its function and mechanism as well as inhibitors against it for oncological research. However, there remains a lack of understanding regarding the role of CDK12 in carcinogenesis and cancer prevention. An exhaustive comprehension of CDK12 will highly stimulate the development of new strategies for treating and preventing cancer. Here, we review the literature of CDK12, with a focus on its function, its role in signaling, and how to use it as a target for discovery of novel drugs for cancer prevention and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Liu
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, The Academy of Medical Science, College of Medical, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Kangdong Liu
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, The Academy of Medical Science, College of Medical, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.,China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Zigang Dong
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, The Academy of Medical Science, College of Medical, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China. .,China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Jinshui District, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
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17
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Bayles I, Krajewska M, Pontius WD, Saiakhova A, Morrow JJ, Bartels C, Lu J, Faber ZJ, Fedorov Y, Hong ES, Karnuta JM, Rubin B, Adams DJ, George RE, Scacheri PC. Ex vivo screen identifies CDK12 as a metastatic vulnerability in osteosarcoma. J Clin Invest 2020; 129:4377-4392. [PMID: 31498151 DOI: 10.1172/jci127718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 07/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite progress in intensification of therapy, outcomes for patients with metastatic osteosarcoma (OS) have not improved in thirty years. We developed a system that enabled preclinical screening of compounds against metastatic OS cells in the context of the native lung microenvironment. Using this strategy to screen a library of epigenetically targeted compounds, we identified inhibitors of CDK12 to be most effective, reducing OS cell outgrowth in the lung by more than 90% at submicromolar doses. We found that knockout of CDK12 in an in vivo model of lung metastasis significantly decreased the ability of OS to colonize the lung. CDK12 inhibition led to defects in transcription elongation in a gene length- and expression-dependent manner. These effects were accompanied by defects in RNA processing and altered the expression of genes involved in transcription regulation and the DNA damage response. We further identified OS models that differ in their sensitivity to CDK12 inhibition in the lung and provided evidence that upregulated MYC levels may mediate these differences. Our studies provided a framework for rapid preclinical testing of compounds with antimetastatic activity and highlighted CDK12 as a potential therapeutic target in OS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Bayles
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Malgorzata Krajewska
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - W Dean Pontius
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Alina Saiakhova
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - James J Morrow
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Cynthia Bartels
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Jim Lu
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Zachary J Faber
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Yuriy Fedorov
- Small Molecules Drug Development Core Facility, Office of Research Administration, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Ellen S Hong
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Jaret M Karnuta
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Brian Rubin
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Drew J Adams
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Small Molecules Drug Development Core Facility, Office of Research Administration, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Rani E George
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Peter C Scacheri
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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18
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Liu H, Shin SH, Chen H, Liu T, Li Z, Hu Y, Liu F, Zhang C, Kim DJ, Liu K, Dong Z. CDK12 and PAK2 as novel therapeutic targets for human gastric cancer. Am J Cancer Res 2020; 10:6201-6215. [PMID: 32483448 PMCID: PMC7255043 DOI: 10.7150/thno.46137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Gastric cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death, and the third in mortality due to lack of effective therapeutic targets for late stage cancer patients. This study aims to identify potential druggable target biomarkers as potential therapeutic options for patients with gastric cancer. Methods: Immunohistochemistry of human gastric tumor tissues was conducted to determine the expression level of cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12). Multiple in vitro and in vivo assays such as RNAi, mass spectrometry, computer docking models, kinase assays, cell xenograft NU/NU mouse models (CDXs) and patient-derived xenograft NOD/SCID mouse models (PDXs) were conducted to study the function and molecular interaction of CDK12 with p21 activated kinase 2 (PAK2), as well as to find CDK12 inhibitors as potential treatment options for human gastric cancer. Results: Here we identified that CDK12 is a driver gene in human gastric cancer growth. Mechanistically, CDK12 directly binds to and phosphorylates PAK2 at T134/T169 to activate MAPK signaling pathway. We further identified FDA approved clinical drug procaterol can serve as an effective CDK12 inhibitor, leading to dramatic restriction of cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth in human gastric cancer cells and PDXs. Conclusions: Our data highlight the potential of CDK12/PAK2 as therapeutic targets for patients with gastric cancer, and we propose procaterol treatment as a novel therapeutic strategy for human gastric cancer.
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19
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Fan Z, Devlin JR, Hogg SJ, Doyle MA, Harrison PF, Todorovski I, Cluse LA, Knight DA, Sandow JJ, Gregory G, Fox A, Beilharz TH, Kwiatkowski N, Scott NE, Vidakovic AT, Kelly GP, Svejstrup JQ, Geyer M, Gray NS, Vervoort SJ, Johnstone RW. CDK13 cooperates with CDK12 to control global RNA polymerase II processivity. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaaz5041. [PMID: 32917631 PMCID: PMC7190357 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz5041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The RNA polymerase II (POLII)-driven transcription cycle is tightly regulated at distinct checkpoints by cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and their cognate cyclins. The molecular events underpinning transcriptional elongation, processivity, and the CDK-cyclin pair(s) involved remain poorly understood. Using CRISPR-Cas9 homology-directed repair, we generated analog-sensitive kinase variants of CDK12 and CDK13 to probe their individual and shared biological and molecular roles. Single inhibition of CDK12 or CDK13 induced transcriptional responses associated with cellular growth signaling pathways and/or DNA damage, with minimal effects on cell viability. In contrast, dual kinase inhibition potently induced cell death, which was associated with extensive genome-wide transcriptional changes including widespread use of alternative 3' polyadenylation sites. At the molecular level, dual kinase inhibition resulted in the loss of POLII CTD phosphorylation and greatly reduced POLII elongation rates and processivity. These data define substantial redundancy between CDK12 and CDK13 and identify both as fundamental regulators of global POLII processivity and transcription elongation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Fan
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, 3000 VIC, Australia
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052 VIC, Australia
| | - Jennifer R Devlin
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, 3000 VIC, Australia
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052 VIC, Australia
| | - Simon J Hogg
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, 3000 VIC, Australia
| | - Maria A Doyle
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, 3000 VIC, Australia
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052 VIC, Australia
| | - Paul F Harrison
- Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, 3800 VIC, Australia
- Monash Bioinformatics Platform, Monash University, Clayton, 3800 VIC, Australia
| | - Izabela Todorovski
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, 3000 VIC, Australia
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052 VIC, Australia
| | - Leonie A Cluse
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, 3000 VIC, Australia
| | - Deborah A Knight
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, 3000 VIC, Australia
| | - Jarrod J Sandow
- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, 3052 VIC, Australia
- Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 3052 VIC, Australia
| | - Gareth Gregory
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, 3000 VIC, Australia
| | - Andrew Fox
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, 3000 VIC, Australia
| | - Traude H Beilharz
- Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, 3800 VIC, Australia
| | - Nicholas Kwiatkowski
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nichollas E Scott
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052 VIC, Australia
| | | | - Gavin P Kelly
- Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Jesper Q Svejstrup
- Mechanisms of Transcription Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Matthias Geyer
- Institute of Structural Biology, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Nathanael S Gray
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Stephin J Vervoort
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, 3000 VIC, Australia.
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052 VIC, Australia
| | - Ricky W Johnstone
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, 3000 VIC, Australia.
- The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052 VIC, Australia
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20
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Pilarova K, Herudek J, Blazek D. CDK12: cellular functions and therapeutic potential of versatile player in cancer. NAR Cancer 2020; 2:zcaa003. [PMID: 34316683 PMCID: PMC8210036 DOI: 10.1093/narcan/zcaa003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) phosphorylates the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II and is needed for the optimal transcription elongation and translation of a subset of human protein-coding genes. The kinase has a pleiotropic effect on the maintenance of genome stability, and its inactivation in prostate and ovarian tumours results in focal tandem duplications, a CDK12-unique genome instability phenotype. CDK12 aberrations were found in many other malignancies and have the potential to be used as biomarkers for therapeutic intervention. Moreover, the inhibition of CDK12 emerges as a promising strategy for treatment in several types of cancers. In this review, we summarize mechanisms that CDK12 utilizes for the regulation of gene expression and discuss how the perturbation of CDK12-sensitive genes contributes to the disruption of cell cycle progression and the onset of genome instability. Furthermore, we describe tumour-suppressive and oncogenic functions of CDK12 and its potential as a biomarker and inhibition target in anti-tumour treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kveta Pilarova
- Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Herudek
- Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Dalibor Blazek
- Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
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21
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CDK12 Activity-Dependent Phosphorylation Events in Human Cells. Biomolecules 2019; 9:biom9100634. [PMID: 31652541 PMCID: PMC6844070 DOI: 10.3390/biom9100634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2019] [Revised: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
We asked whether the C-terminal repeat domain (CTD) kinase, CDK12/CyclinK, phosphorylates substrates in addition to the CTD of RPB1, using our CDK12analog-sensitive HeLa cell line to investigate CDK12 activity-dependent phosphorylation events in human cells. Characterizing the phospho-proteome before and after selective inhibition of CDK12 activity by the analog 1-NM-PP1, we identified 5,644 distinct phospho-peptides, among which were 50 whose average relative amount decreased more than 2-fold after 30 min of inhibition (none of these derived from RPB1). Half of the phospho-peptides actually showed >3-fold decreases, and a dozen showed decreases of 5-fold or more. As might be expected, the 40 proteins that gave rise to the 50 affected phospho-peptides mostly function in processes that have been linked to CDK12, such as transcription and RNA processing. However, the results also suggest roles for CDK12 in other events, notably mRNA nuclear export, cell differentiation and mitosis. While a number of the more-affected sites resemble the CTD in amino acid sequence and are likely direct CDK12 substrates, other highly-affected sites are not CTD-like, and their decreased phosphorylation may be a secondary (downstream) effect of CDK12 inhibition.
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22
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Nováková M, Hampl M, Vrábel D, Procházka J, Petrezselyová S, Procházková M, Sedláček R, Kavková M, Zikmund T, Kaiser J, Juan HC, Fann MJ, Buchtová M, Kohoutek J. Mouse Model of Congenital Heart Defects, Dysmorphic Facial Features and Intellectual Developmental Disorders as a Result of Non-functional CDK13. Front Cell Dev Biol 2019; 7:155. [PMID: 31440507 PMCID: PMC6694211 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2019.00155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Congenital heart defects, dysmorphic facial features and intellectual developmental disorders (CHDFIDD) syndrome in humans was recently associated with mutation in CDK13 gene. In order to assess the loss of function of Cdk13 during mouse development, we employed gene trap knock-out (KO) allele in Cdk13 gene. Embryonic lethality of Cdk13-deficient animals was observed by the embryonic day (E) 16.5, while live embryos were observed on E15.5. At this stage, improper development of multiple organs has been documented, partly resembling defects observed in patients with mutated CDK13. In particular, overall developmental delay, incomplete secondary palate formation with variability in severity among Cdk13-deficient animals or complete midline deficiency, kidney failure accompanied by congenital heart defects were detected. Based on further analyses, the lethality at this stage is a result of heart failure most likely due to multiple heart defects followed by insufficient blood circulation resulting in multiple organs dysfunctions. Thus, Cdk13 KO mice might be a very useful model for further studies focused on delineating signaling circuits and molecular mechanisms underlying CHDFIDD caused by mutation in CDK13 gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Nováková
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czechia
| | - Marek Hampl
- Laboratory of Molecular Morphogenesis, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia.,Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Dávid Vrábel
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czechia
| | - Jan Procházka
- Laboratory of Transgenic Models of Diseases, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia.,Czech Centre for Phenogenomics, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Silvia Petrezselyová
- Laboratory of Transgenic Models of Diseases, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia.,Czech Centre for Phenogenomics, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Michaela Procházková
- Laboratory of Transgenic Models of Diseases, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia.,Czech Centre for Phenogenomics, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Radislav Sedláček
- Laboratory of Transgenic Models of Diseases, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia.,Czech Centre for Phenogenomics, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Michaela Kavková
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czechia
| | - Tomáš Zikmund
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czechia
| | - Jozef Kaiser
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czechia
| | - Hsien-Chia Juan
- Department of Life Sciences, Institute of Genome Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Ji Fann
- Department of Life Sciences, Institute of Genome Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Marcela Buchtová
- Laboratory of Molecular Morphogenesis, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia.,Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
| | - Jiří Kohoutek
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czechia
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23
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Chun Y, Joo YJ, Suh H, Batot G, Hill CP, Formosa T, Buratowski S. Selective Kinase Inhibition Shows That Bur1 (Cdk9) Phosphorylates the Rpb1 Linker In Vivo. Mol Cell Biol 2019; 39:e00602-18. [PMID: 31085683 PMCID: PMC6639251 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.00602-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinases play multiple roles in RNA polymerase II transcription. Cdk7/Kin28, Cdk9/Bur1, and Cdk12/Ctk1 phosphorylate the polymerase and other factors to drive the dynamic exchange of initiation and elongation complex components over the transcription cycle. We engineered strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae for rapid, specific inactivation of individual kinases by addition of a covalent inhibitor. While effective, the sensitized kinases can display some idiosyncrasies, and inhibition can be surprisingly transient. As expected, inhibition of Cdk7/Kin28 blocked phosphorylation of the Rpb1 C-terminal domain heptad repeats at serines 5 and 7, the known target sites. However, serine 2 phosphorylation was also abrogated, supporting an obligatory sequential phosphorylation mechanism. Consistent with our previous results using gene deletions, Cdk12/Ctk1 is the predominant kinase responsible for serine 2 phosphorylation. Phosphorylation of the Rpb1 linker enhances binding of the Spt6 tandem SH2 domain, and here we show that Bur1/Cdk9 is the kinase responsible for these modifications in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujin Chun
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Yoo Jin Joo
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Hyunsuk Suh
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Gaëlle Batot
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Christopher P Hill
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Tim Formosa
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Stephen Buratowski
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
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24
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Greenleaf AL. Human CDK12 and CDK13, multi-tasking CTD kinases for the new millenium. Transcription 2019; 10:91-110. [PMID: 30319007 PMCID: PMC6602566 DOI: 10.1080/21541264.2018.1535211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2018] [Revised: 09/25/2018] [Accepted: 09/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
As the new millennium began, CDK12 and CDK13 were discovered as nucleotide sequences that encode protein kinases related to cell cycle CDKs. By the end of the first decade both proteins had been qualified as CTD kinases, and it was emerging that both are heterodimers containing a Cyclin K subunit. Since then, many studies on CDK12 have shown that, through phosphorylating the CTD of transcribing RNAPII, it plays critical roles in several stages of gene expression, notably RNA processing; it is also crucial for maintaining genome stability. Fewer studies on CKD13 have clearly shown that it is functionally distinct from CDK12. CDK13 is important for proper expression of a number of genes, but it also probably plays yet-to-be-discovered roles in other processes. This review summarizes much of the work on CDK12 and CDK13 and attempts to evaluate the results and place them in context. Our understanding of these two enzymes has begun to mature, but we still have much to learn about both. An indicator of one major area of medically-relevant future research comes from the discovery that CDK12 is a tumor suppressor, notably for certain ovarian and prostate cancers. A challenge for the future is to understand CDK12 and CDK13 well enough to explain how their loss promotes cancer development and how we can intercede to prevent or treat those cancers. Abbreviations: CDK: cyclin-dependent kinase; CTD: C-terminal repeat domain of POLR2A; CTDK-I: CTD kinase I (yeast); Ctk1: catalytic subunit of CTDK-I; Ctk2: cyclin-like subunit of CTDK-I; PCAP: phosphoCTD-associating protein; POLR2A: largest subunit of RNAPII; SRI domain: Set2-RNAPII Interacting domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arno L. Greenleaf
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
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25
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Ito M, Tanaka T, Toita A, Uchiyama N, Kokubo H, Morishita N, Klein MG, Zou H, Murakami M, Kondo M, Sameshima T, Araki S, Endo S, Kawamoto T, Morin GB, Aparicio SA, Nakanishi A, Maezaki H, Imaeda Y. Discovery of 3-Benzyl-1-( trans-4-((5-cyanopyridin-2-yl)amino)cyclohexyl)-1-arylurea Derivatives as Novel and Selective Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 12 (CDK12) Inhibitors. J Med Chem 2018; 61:7710-7728. [PMID: 30067358 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) plays a key role in the coordination of transcription with elongation and mRNA processing. CDK12 mutations found in tumors and CDK12 inhibition sensitize cancer cells to DNA-damaging reagents and DNA-repair inhibitors. This suggests that CDK12 inhibitors are potential therapeutics for cancer that may cause synthetic lethality. Here, we report the discovery of 3-benzyl-1-( trans-4-((5-cyanopyridin-2-yl)amino)cyclohexyl)-1-arylurea derivatives as novel and selective CDK12 inhibitors. Structure-activity relationship studies of a HTS hit, structure-based drug design, and conformation-oriented design using the Cambridge Structural Database afforded the optimized compound 2, which exhibited not only potent CDK12 (and CDK13) inhibitory activity and excellent selectivity but also good physicochemical properties. Furthermore, 2 inhibited the phosphorylation of Ser2 in the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II and induced growth inhibition in SK-BR-3 cells. Therefore, 2 represents an excellent chemical probe for functional studies of CDK12 and could be a promising lead compound for drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahiro Ito
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Toshio Tanaka
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Akinori Toita
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Noriko Uchiyama
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Hironori Kokubo
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Nao Morishita
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Michael G Klein
- Department of Structural Biology , Takeda California Inc. , 10410 Science Center Drive , San Diego , California 92121 , United States
| | - Hua Zou
- Department of Structural Biology , Takeda California Inc. , 10410 Science Center Drive , San Diego , California 92121 , United States
| | - Morio Murakami
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Mitsuyo Kondo
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Tomoya Sameshima
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Shinsuke Araki
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Satoshi Endo
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Tomohiro Kawamoto
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Gregg B Morin
- Genome Sciences Centre , British Columbia Cancer Agency , 675 West 10th Avenue , Vancouver , British Columbia V5Z 1L3 , Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics , University of British Columbia , Vancouver , British Columbia V6H 3N1 , Canada
| | - Samuel A Aparicio
- Department of Molecular Oncology , British Columbia Cancer Agency , 675 West 10th Avenue , Vancouver , British Columbia V5Z 1L3 , Canada
| | - Atsushi Nakanishi
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Hironobu Maezaki
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Imaeda
- Pharmaceutical Research Division , Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-chome , Fujisawa , Kanagawa 251-8555 , Japan
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26
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Lui GYL, Grandori C, Kemp CJ. CDK12: an emerging therapeutic target for cancer. J Clin Pathol 2018; 71:957-962. [PMID: 30104286 DOI: 10.1136/jclinpath-2018-205356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2018] [Revised: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) belongs to the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) family of serine/threonine protein kinases that regulate transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes, thereby modulating multiple cellular functions. Early studies characterised CDK12 as a transcriptional CDK that complexes with cyclin K to mediate gene transcription by phosphorylating RNA polymerase II. CDK12 has been demonstrated to specifically upregulate the expression of genes involved in response to DNA damage, stress and heat shock. More recent studies have implicated CDK12 in regulating mRNA splicing, 3' end processing, pre-replication complex assembly and genomic stability during embryonic development. Genomic alterations in CDK12 have been detected in oesophageal, stomach, breast, endometrial, uterine, ovarian, bladder, colorectal and pancreatic cancers, ranging from 5% to 15% of sequenced cases. An increasing number of studies point to CDK12 inhibition as an effective strategy to inhibit tumour growth, and synthetic lethal interactions have been described with MYC, EWS/FLI and PARP/CHK1 inhibition. Herein, we discuss the present literature on CDK12 in cell function and human cancer, highlighting important roles for CDK12 as a clinical biomarker for treatment response and potential as an effective therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goldie Y L Lui
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Human Biology Division, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | | | - Christopher J Kemp
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Human Biology Division, Seattle, Washington, USA
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27
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Kalan S, Amat R, Schachter MM, Kwiatkowski N, Abraham BJ, Liang Y, Zhang T, Olson CM, Larochelle S, Young RA, Gray NS, Fisher RP. Activation of the p53 Transcriptional Program Sensitizes Cancer Cells to Cdk7 Inhibitors. Cell Rep 2018; 21:467-481. [PMID: 29020632 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.09.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2017] [Revised: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 09/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cdk7, the CDK-activating kinase and transcription factor IIH component, is a target of inhibitors that kill cancer cells by exploiting tumor-specific transcriptional dependencies. However, whereas selective inhibition of analog-sensitive (AS) Cdk7 in colon cancer-derived cells arrests division and disrupts transcription, it does not by itself trigger apoptosis efficiently. Here, we show that p53 activation by 5-fluorouracil or nutlin-3 synergizes with a reversible Cdk7as inhibitor to induce cell death. Synthetic lethality was recapitulated with covalent inhibitors of wild-type Cdk7, THZ1, or the more selective YKL-1-116. The effects were allele specific; a CDK7as mutation conferred both sensitivity to bulky adenine analogs and resistance to covalent inhibitors. Non-transformed colon epithelial cells were resistant to these combinations, as were cancer-derived cells with p53-inactivating mutations. Apoptosis was dependent on death receptor DR5, a p53 transcriptional target whose expression was refractory to Cdk7 inhibition. Therefore, p53 activation induces transcriptional dependency to sensitize cancer cells to Cdk7 inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sampada Kalan
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Ramon Amat
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Miriam Merzel Schachter
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Nicholas Kwiatkowski
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Brian J Abraham
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Yanke Liang
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Tinghu Zhang
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Calla M Olson
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Stéphane Larochelle
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Richard A Young
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA 02142, USA
| | - Nathanael S Gray
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Robert P Fisher
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
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28
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Tien JF, Mazloomian A, Cheng SWG, Hughes CS, Chow CCT, Canapi LT, Oloumi A, Trigo-Gonzalez G, Bashashati A, Xu J, Chang VCD, Shah SP, Aparicio S, Morin GB. CDK12 regulates alternative last exon mRNA splicing and promotes breast cancer cell invasion. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:6698-6716. [PMID: 28334900 PMCID: PMC5499812 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2016] [Accepted: 03/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
CDK12 (cyclin-dependent kinase 12) is a regulatory kinase with evolutionarily conserved roles in modulating transcription elongation. Recent tumor genome studies of breast and ovarian cancers highlighted recurrent CDK12 mutations, which have been shown to disrupt DNA repair in cell-based assays. In breast cancers, CDK12 is also frequently co-amplified with the HER2 (ERBB2) oncogene. The mechanisms underlying functions of CDK12 in general and in cancer remain poorly defined. Based on global analysis of mRNA transcripts in normal and breast cancer cell lines with and without CDK12 amplification, we demonstrate that CDK12 primarily regulates alternative last exon (ALE) splicing, a specialized subtype of alternative mRNA splicing, that is both gene- and cell type-specific. These are unusual properties for spliceosome regulatory factors, which typically regulate multiple forms of alternative splicing in a global manner. In breast cancer cells, regulation by CDK12 modulates ALE splicing of the DNA damage response activator ATM and a DNAJB6 isoform that influences cell invasion and tumorigenesis in xenografts. We found that there is a direct correlation between CDK12 levels, DNAJB6 isoform levels and the migration capacity and invasiveness of breast tumor cells. This suggests that CDK12 gene amplification can contribute to the pathogenesis of the cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerry F Tien
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Alborz Mazloomian
- Graduate Bioinformatics Training Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V5Z 4S6, Canada.,Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - S-W Grace Cheng
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Christopher S Hughes
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Christalle C T Chow
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Leanna T Canapi
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Arusha Oloumi
- Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Genny Trigo-Gonzalez
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Ali Bashashati
- Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - James Xu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 2B5, Canada
| | - Vicky C-D Chang
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada
| | - Sohrab P Shah
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada.,Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 2B5, Canada
| | - Samuel Aparicio
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada.,Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 2B5, Canada
| | - Gregg B Morin
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver V5Z 1L3, Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6H 3N1, Canada
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29
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Paculová H, Kohoutek J. The emerging roles of CDK12 in tumorigenesis. Cell Div 2017; 12:7. [PMID: 29090014 PMCID: PMC5658942 DOI: 10.1186/s13008-017-0033-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2017] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are key regulators of both cell cycle progression and transcription. Since dysregulation of CDKs is a frequently occurring event driving tumorigenesis, CDKs have been tested extensively as targets for cancer therapy. Cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) is a transcription-associated kinase which participates in various cellular processes, including DNA damage response, development and cellular differentiation, as well as splicing and pre-mRNA processing. CDK12 mutations and amplification have been recently reported in different types of malignancies, including loss-of-function mutations in high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas, and that has led to assumption that CDK12 is a tumor suppressor. On the contrary, CDK12 overexpression in other tumors suggests the possibility that CDK12 has oncogenic properties, similarly to other transcription-associated kinases. In this review, we discuss current knowledge concerning the role of CDK12 in ovarian and breast tumorigenesis and the potential for chemical inhibitors of CDK12 in future cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hana Paculová
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, Brno, 621 00 Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Kohoutek
- Department of Chemistry and Toxicology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, Brno, 621 00 Czech Republic
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30
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Abstract
Over the past two decades there has been a great deal of interest in the development of inhibitors of the cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). This attention initially stemmed from observations that different CDK isoforms have key roles in cancer cell proliferation through loss of regulation of the cell cycle, a hallmark feature of cancer. CDKs have now been shown to regulate other processes, particularly various aspects of transcription. The early non-selective CDK inhibitors exhibited considerable toxicity and proved to be insufficiently active in most cancers. The lack of patient selection biomarkers and an absence of understanding of the inhibitory profile required for efficacy hampered the development of these inhibitors. However, the advent of potent isoform-selective inhibitors with accompanying biomarkers has re-ignited interest. Palbociclib, a selective CDK4/6 inhibitor, is now approved for the treatment of ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer. Current developments in the field include the identification of potent and selective inhibitors of the transcriptional CDKs; these include tool compounds that have allowed exploration of individual CDKs as cancer targets and the determination of their potential therapeutic windows. Biomarkers that allow the selection of patients likely to respond are now being discovered. Drug resistance has emerged as a major hurdle in the clinic for most protein kinase inhibitors and resistance mechanism are beginning to be identified for CDK inhibitors. This suggests that the selective inhibitors may be best used combined with standard of care or other molecularly targeted agents now in development rather than in isolation as monotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven R Whittaker
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SW7 3RP, United Kingdom
| | - Aurélie Mallinger
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SW7 3RP, United Kingdom; Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SW7 3RP, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Workman
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SW7 3RP, United Kingdom; Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SW7 3RP, United Kingdom
| | - Paul A Clarke
- Division of Cancer Therapeutics, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SW7 3RP, United Kingdom; Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SW7 3RP, United Kingdom.
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31
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Woodward LA, Mabin JW, Gangras P, Singh G. The exon junction complex: a lifelong guardian of mRNA fate. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-RNA 2016; 8. [PMID: 28008720 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2016] [Revised: 10/27/2016] [Accepted: 11/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
During messenger RNA (mRNA) biogenesis and processing in the nucleus, many proteins are imprinted on mRNAs assembling them into messenger ribonucleoproteins (mRNPs). Some of these proteins remain stably bound within mRNPs and have a long-lasting impact on their fate. One of the best-studied examples is the exon junction complex (EJC), a multiprotein complex deposited primarily 24 nucleotides upstream of exon-exon junctions as a consequence of pre-mRNA splicing. The EJC maintains a stable, sequence-independent, hold on the mRNA until its removal during translation in the cytoplasm. Acting as a molecular shepherd, the EJC travels with mRNA across the cellular landscape coupling pre-mRNA splicing to downstream, posttranscriptional processes such as mRNA export, mRNA localization, translation, and nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD). In this review, we discuss our current understanding of the EJC's functions during these processes, and expound its newly discovered functions (e.g., pre-mRNA splicing). Another focal point is the recently unveiled in vivo EJC interactome, which has shed new light on the EJC's location on the spliced RNAs and its intimate relationship with other mRNP components. We summarize new strides being made in connecting the EJC's molecular function with phenotypes, informed by studies of human disorders and model organisms. The progress toward understanding EJC functions has revealed, in its wake, even more questions, which are discussed throughout. WIREs RNA 2017, 8:e1411. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1411 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren A Woodward
- Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Justin W Mabin
- Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Pooja Gangras
- Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Guramrit Singh
- Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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Abstract
Transcription by RNA polymerase (RNAP) II is regulated at multiple steps by phosphorylation, catalyzed mainly by members of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) family. The CDKs involved in transcription have overlapping substrate specificities, but play largely non-redundant roles in coordinating gene expression. Novel functions and targets of CDKs have recently emerged at the end of the transcription cycle, when the primary transcript is cleaved, and in most cases polyadenylated, and transcription is terminated by the action of the "torpedo" exonuclease Xrn2, which is a CDK substrate. Collectively, various functions have been ascribed to CDKs or CDK-mediated phosphorylation: recruiting cleavage and polyadenylation factors, preventing premature termination within gene bodies while promoting efficient termination of full-length transcripts, and preventing extensive readthrough transcription into intergenic regions or neighboring genes. The assignment of precise functions to specific CDKs is still in progress, but recent advances suggest ways in which the CDK network and RNAP II machinery might cooperate to ensure timely exit from the transcription cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert P Fisher
- a Department of Oncological Sciences , Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai , New York , NY , USA
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33
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Zhang T, Kwiatkowski N, Olson CM, Dixon-Clarke SE, Abraham BJ, Greifenberg AK, Ficarro SB, Elkins JM, Liang Y, Hannett NM, Manz T, Hao M, Bartkowiak B, Greenleaf AL, Marto JA, Geyer M, Bullock AN, Young RA, Gray NS. Covalent targeting of remote cysteine residues to develop CDK12 and CDK13 inhibitors. Nat Chem Biol 2016; 12:876-84. [PMID: 27571479 DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.2166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 221] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2015] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinases 12 and 13 (CDK12 and CDK13) play critical roles in the regulation of gene transcription. However, the absence of CDK12 and CDK13 inhibitors has hindered the ability to investigate the consequences of their inhibition in healthy cells and cancer cells. Here we describe the rational design of a first-in-class CDK12 and CDK13 covalent inhibitor, THZ531. Co-crystallization of THZ531 with CDK12-cyclin K indicates that THZ531 irreversibly targets a cysteine located outside the kinase domain. THZ531 causes a loss of gene expression with concurrent loss of elongating and hyperphosphorylated RNA polymerase II. In particular, THZ531 substantially decreases the expression of DNA damage response genes and key super-enhancer-associated transcription factor genes. Coincident with transcriptional perturbation, THZ531 dramatically induced apoptotic cell death. Small molecules capable of specifically targeting CDK12 and CDK13 may thus help identify cancer subtypes that are particularly dependent on their kinase activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tinghu Zhang
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Nicholas Kwiatkowski
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Calla M Olson
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Brian J Abraham
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ann K Greifenberg
- Department of Structural Immunology, Institute of Innate Immunity, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Bonn, Germany
| | - Scott B Ficarro
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Blais Proteomics Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | - Yanke Liang
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Nancy M Hannett
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Theresa Manz
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Mingfeng Hao
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Bartlomiej Bartkowiak
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Arno L Greenleaf
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jarrod A Marto
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Blais Proteomics Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Matthias Geyer
- Department of Structural Immunology, Institute of Innate Immunity, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Bonn, Germany
| | - Alex N Bullock
- Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Richard A Young
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Nathanael S Gray
- Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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34
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Jeronimo C, Collin P, Robert F. The RNA Polymerase II CTD: The Increasing Complexity of a Low-Complexity Protein Domain. J Mol Biol 2016; 428:2607-2622. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2016.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2015] [Revised: 01/27/2016] [Accepted: 02/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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35
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Cdk12 Is A Gene-Selective RNA Polymerase II Kinase That Regulates a Subset of the Transcriptome, Including Nrf2 Target Genes. Sci Rep 2016; 6:21455. [PMID: 26911346 PMCID: PMC4766476 DOI: 10.1038/srep21455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2015] [Accepted: 01/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The Nrf2 transcription factor is well conserved throughout metazoan evolution and serves as a central regulator of adaptive cellular responses to oxidative stress. We carried out an RNAi screen in Drosophila S2 cells to better understand the regulatory mechanisms governing Nrf2 target gene expression. This paper describes the identification and characterization of the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) kinase Cdk12 as a factor that is required for Nrf2 target gene expression in cell culture and in vivo. Cdk12 is, however, not essential for bulk mRNA transcription and cells lacking CDK12 function are viable and able to proliferate. Consistent with previous findings on the DNA damage and heat shock responses, it emerges that Cdk12 may be specifically required for stress activated gene expression. Transcriptome analysis revealed that antioxidant gene expression is compromised in flies with reduced Cdk12 function, which makes them oxidative stress sensitive. In addition to supporting Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) induced gene activation, Cdk12 suppresses genes that support metabolic functions in stressed conditions. We suggest that Cdk12 acts as a gene-selective Pol II kinase that engages a global shift in gene expression to switch cells from a metabolically active state to “stress-defence mode” when challenged by external stress.
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36
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Tellier M, Ferrer-Vicens I, Murphy S. The point of no return: The poly(A)-associated elongation checkpoint. RNA Biol 2016; 13:265-71. [PMID: 26853452 DOI: 10.1080/15476286.2016.1142037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinases play critical roles in transcription by RNA polymerase II (pol II) and processing of the transcripts. For example, CDK9 regulates transcription of protein-coding genes, splicing, and 3' end formation of the transcripts. Accordingly, CDK9 inhibitors have a drastic effect on the production of mRNA in human cells. Recent analyses indicate that CDK9 regulates transcription at the early-elongation checkpoint of the vast majority of pol II-transcribed genes. Our recent discovery of an additional CDK9-regulated elongation checkpoint close to poly(A) sites adds a new layer to the control of transcription by this critical cellular kinase. This novel poly(A)-associated checkpoint has the potential to powerfully regulate gene expression just before a functional polyadenylated mRNA is produced: the point of no return. However, many questions remain to be answered before the role of this checkpoint becomes clear. Here we speculate on the possible biological significance of this novel mechanism of gene regulation and the players that may be involved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Tellier
- a Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford , Oxford OX1 3RE , UK
| | - Ivan Ferrer-Vicens
- a Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford , Oxford OX1 3RE , UK
| | - Shona Murphy
- a Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford , Oxford OX1 3RE , UK
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37
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Structural and Functional Analysis of the Cdk13/Cyclin K Complex. Cell Rep 2015; 14:320-31. [PMID: 26748711 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.12.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2015] [Revised: 10/29/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinases regulate the cell cycle and transcription in higher eukaryotes. We have determined the crystal structure of the transcription kinase Cdk13 and its Cyclin K subunit at 2.0 Å resolution. Cdk13 contains a C-terminal extension helix composed of a polybasic cluster and a DCHEL motif that interacts with the bound ATP. Cdk13/CycK phosphorylates both Ser5 and Ser2 of the RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain (CTD) with a preference for Ser7 pre-phosphorylations at a C-terminal position. The peptidyl-prolyl isomerase Pin1 does not change the phosphorylation specificities of Cdk9, Cdk12, and Cdk13 but interacts with the phosphorylated CTD through its WW domain. Using recombinant proteins, we find that flavopiridol inhibits Cdk7 more potently than it does Cdk13. Gene expression changes after knockdown of Cdk13 or Cdk12 are markedly different, with enrichment of growth signaling pathways for Cdk13-dependent genes. Together, our results provide insights into the structure, function, and activity of human Cdk13/CycK.
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38
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Structures of the CDK12/CycK complex with AMP-PNP reveal a flexible C-terminal kinase extension important for ATP binding. Sci Rep 2015; 5:17122. [PMID: 26597175 PMCID: PMC4656997 DOI: 10.1038/srep17122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2015] [Accepted: 10/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12) promotes transcriptional elongation by phosphorylation of the RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain (CTD). Structure-function studies show that this activity is dependent on a C-terminal kinase extension, as well as the binding of cyclin K (CycK). To better define these interactions we determined the crystal structure of the human CDK12/CycK complex with and without the kinase extension in the presence of AMP-PNP. The structures revealed novel features for a CDK, including a large β4-β5 loop insertion that contributes to the N-lobe interaction with the cyclin. We also observed two different conformations of the C-terminal kinase extension that effectively open and close the ATP pocket. Most notably, bound AMP-PNP was only observed when trapped in the closed state. Truncation of this C-terminal structure also diminished AMP-PNP binding, as well as the catalytic activity of the CDK12/CycK complex. Further kinetic measurements showed that the full length CDK12/CycK complex was significantly more active than the two crystallised constructs suggesting a critical role for additional domains. Overall, these results demonstrate the intrinsic flexibility of the C-terminal extension in CDK12 and highlight its importance for both ATP binding and kinase activity.
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39
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Bartkowiak B, Yan C, Greenleaf AL. Engineering an analog-sensitive CDK12 cell line using CRISPR/Cas. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS 2015; 1849:1179-87. [PMID: 26189575 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2015.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2015] [Revised: 07/08/2015] [Accepted: 07/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The RNA Polymerase II C-terminal domain (CTD) kinase CDK12 has been implicated as a tumor suppressor and regulator of DNA damage response genes. Although much has been learned about CDK12 and its activity, due to the lack of a specific inhibitor and the complications posed by long term RNAi depletion, much is still unknown about the particulars of CDK12 function. Therefore gaining a better understanding of CDK12's roles at the molecular level will be challenging without the development of additional tools. In order to address these issues we have used the CRISPR/Cas gene engineering system to create a mammalian cell line in which the only functional copy of CDK12 is selectively inhibitable by a cell-permeable adenine analog (analog-sensitive CDK12). Inhibition of CDK12 results in a perturbation of the phosphorylation patterns on the CTD and an arrest in cellular proliferation. This cell line should serve as a powerful tool for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christopher Yan
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, United States
| | - Arno L Greenleaf
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, United States.
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