CDK6 Antagonizes TP53-Induced Responses during Tumorigenesis

Inhibitors directed against cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) have raised much interest as anti-cancer therapeutics over the last years. In particular, inhibitors directed against CDK4/6 have been declared as a major breakthrough in cancer therapy by the FDA. CDK4 and CDK6 bind to D-type cyclins and subsequently phosphorylate the RB protein to allow cells to progress through the G1 phase of the cell cycle. The effectiveness of CDK4/6 inhibitors was primarily assigned to their ability to block cell cycle progression. In hematopoietic malignancies high levels of CDK6, but not CDK4, are frequently found. Over the last years we have assigned a novel and unexpected role for CDK6 as global transcriptional regulator. ChIP-Seq experiments identified more than 20.000 specific CDK6 binding sites in leukemic cells with the majority located in the promoter regions. CDK6 binding to chromatin does not require kinase activity whereas transcriptional control is regulated in a kinase- dependent as well as kinase-independent manner. Overlaying ChIP-Seq and RNA-Seq experiments showed that CDK6 contributes to the induction or repression of genes. Target genes of CDK6 which are important for leukemia progression include PIM1, c-MYC, AURKA, AURKB, AKT and VEGF-A. Murine leukemia models verified the importance of CDK6 for myeloid and lymphoid tumor formation downstream of a variety of oncogenes including FLT3-ITD, NPM/ALK, MLL/AF9, BCR/ABL or JAK2^V617F. CDK6 contributes to disease development by regulating proliferation, cell survival, angiogenesis and cytokine production. In hematopoietic stem cells and leukemic stem cells kinase-independent functions dominate and CDK6 controls a network of transcription factors regulating stem cell quiescence and activation. The importance of kinase-dependent transcriptional effects is pronounced under conditions of stress and transformation. Upon oncogenic stress, CDK6 induces a set of genes that counteract pro-apoptotic TP53 responses including MDM4, PRMT5, PPM1D and BCL2. This response is induced by a CDK6 - dependent phosphorylation of the transcription factors SP1 and NFYA as verified by phospho-chromatome analysis. Murine Cdk6-deficient cells only survive oncogenic stress by mutating Tp53. The link between CDK6 and TP53 is conserved in human hematopoietic malignancies.

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