Abstract 883: Alvocidib-mediated inhibition of CDK9 upregulates BIM via suppression of miR17-92
Authors: Haws Hillary , Arokium Hubert F. , Bogenberger James L. , Siddiqui-Jain Adam , Bearss David J. , Tibes Raoul , Warner Steven L. , Whatcott Clifford J. 
Published: August 2018

The positive-transcription elongation factor (P-TEFb) complex is critical in stimulating the transcription of non-abortive transcripts by RNA polymerase II. The CDK9/cyclin-T heterodimer comprises the P-TEFb complex and promotes transcription elongation through phosphorylation of serine 2 of the heptapeptide repeats of the c-terminal domain of RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII-CTD). Alvocidib, a potent CDK9 inhibitor, has been shown to suppress expression of MCL-1 and Myc mRNAs, and clinical pharmacodynamic data suggest that alvocidib's activity is primarily mediated through the suppression of MCL-1 mRNA and protein expression. In addition to MCL-1 suppression, we hypothesized that CDK9 inhibition affects other RNA Polymerase II target RNAs, such as microRNAs. Recently, it was reported that inhibition of bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) protein by JQ1 suppresses miR17-92 expression. miR17-92 negatively regulates expression of the pro-apoptotic BH3-only protein, BIM, leading to suppression of BIM expression, thereby decreasing the cells' ability to induce apoptosis. It was hypothesized that CDK9 kinase activity is key to miR17-92 expression and suppression of BIM expression and that targeting CDK9 would lead to a decrease in miR17-92, and increases in BIM. MV4-11, OCI-AML3, MOLM13, and THP1 AML cell lines were used to determine the effects of alvocidib treatment on microRNAs. RT-qPCR was utilized to determine microRNA expression levels of miR17-92 and mRNA levels of BIM and other markers. Protein changes were determined using standard gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting technique. CellTiter-Glo and Caspase-Glo were used for all cell viability and apoptosis assays interrogating alvocidib. With CDK9 inhibition mediated via alvocidib, a dose- and time-dependent decrease in miR17-92 expression in MV4-11, OCI-AML3, MOLM13, and THP1 cells was observed. A decrease was observed even 3 hours post-treatment, persisting for up to 24 hours. MicroRNA suppression following treatment ranged in magnitude, with a maximal effect of between 3.3 to 4.2-fold suppression, depending on the cell line and timepoint. This suppression coincided with an increase in BIM mRNA and protein expression in the MV4-11, OCI-AML3, and MOLM13 cells. However, BIM protein increase was not observed in THP1 cells. Maximal increase in BIM mRNA levels reached 5.4-fold in the MV4-11 cell line. Our data suggest that CDK9 inhibition suppresses RNA Polymerase II-mediated expression of miR17-92, which in turn leads to increased expression of BIM. Combined with MCL-1 reduction, increased BIM protein expression mediated by alvocidib leads to enhanced apoptosis. Taken together, the data provide additional understanding of CDK9 as a potential therapeutic target, and are consistent with the hypothesis that CDK9 activity is necessary for miR17-92 expression.

Citation Format: Hillary Haws, Hubert F. Arokium, James L. Bogenberger, Adam Siddiqui-Jain, David J. Bearss, Raoul Tibes, Steven L. Warner, Clifford J. Whatcott. Alvocidib-mediated inhibition of CDK9 upregulates BIM via suppression of miR17-92 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 883.