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Pelish HE, Liau BB, Nitulescu II, Tangpeerachaikul A, Poss ZC, Da Silva DH, Caruso BT, Arefolov A, Fadeyi O, Christie AL, Du K, Banka D, Schneider EV, Jestel A, Zou G, Si C, Ebmeier CC, Bronson RT, Krivtsov AV, Myers AG, Kohl NE, Kung AL, Armstrong SA, Lemieux ME, Taatjes DJ, Shair MD. Mediator kinase inhibition further activates super-enhancer-associated genes in AML. Nature 2015; 526:273-276. [PMID: 26416749 PMCID: PMC4641525 DOI: 10.1038/nature14904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 266] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2014] [Accepted: 07/14/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Super-enhancers (SEs), which are composed of large clusters of enhancers densely loaded with the Mediator complex, transcription factors (TFs), and chromatin regulators, drive high expression of genes implicated in cell identity and disease, such as lineage-controlling TFs and oncogenes 1, 2. BRD4 and CDK7 are positive regulators of SE-mediated transcription3,4,5. In contrast, negative regulators of SE-associated genes have not been well described. Here we report that Mediator-associated kinases cyclin-dependent kinase 8 (CDK8) and CDK19 restrain increased activation of key SE-associated genes in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) cells. We determined that the natural product cortistatin A (CA) selectively inhibited Mediator kinases, had antileukaemic activity in vitro and in vivo, and disproportionately induced upregulation of SE-associated genes in CA-sensitive AML cell lines but not in CA-insensitive cell lines. In AML cells, CA upregulated SE-associated genes with tumour suppressor and lineage-controlling functions, including the TFs CEBPA, IRF8, IRF1 and ETV66, 7, 8. The BRD4 inhibitor I-BET151 downregulated these SE-associated genes, yet also has antileukaemic activity. Individually increasing or decreasing expression of these TFs suppressed AML cell growth, providing evidence that leukaemia cells are sensitive to dosage of SE-associated genes. Our results demonstrate that Mediator kinases can negatively regulate SE-associated gene expression in specific cell types and can be pharmacologically targeted as a therapeutic approach to AML.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry E Pelish
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Brian B Liau
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Ioana I Nitulescu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | | | - Zachary C Poss
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Campus Box 596, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - Diogo H Da Silva
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Brittany T Caruso
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Alexander Arefolov
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Olugbeminiyi Fadeyi
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Amanda L Christie
- Lurie Family Imaging Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Karrie Du
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Deepti Banka
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Elisabeth V Schneider
- Proteros Biostructures GmbH, Bunsenstrasse 7a, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany.,Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, Am Kloperspitz 18, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Anja Jestel
- Proteros Biostructures GmbH, Bunsenstrasse 7a, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Ge Zou
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Chong Si
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Christopher C Ebmeier
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Campus Box 596, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | | | - Andrei V Krivtsov
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program and Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Andrew G Myers
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Nancy E Kohl
- Lurie Family Imaging Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Andrew L Kung
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Scott A Armstrong
- Cancer Biology and Genetics Program and Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | | | - Dylan J Taatjes
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Campus Box 596, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
| | - Matthew D Shair
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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