Abstract 2958: Cyclin D1 regulates the ARF and INK4a promoters

Abstract Cyclin D1 is a member of cyclin protein family, which drives the cell cycle transition from G1 to S phase. The cyclin D1 protein is overexpressed in ∼50% of human breast cancers and is associated with short survival of patients when the gene is amplified. Cyclin D1 forms holoenzymes with cyclin-dependent protein kinase (Cdk) 4 and 6, and the Cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex phosphorylates and inactivates the pRb retinoblastoma tumor suppressor, releasing E2F transcriptional factors from Rb inhibition. The pRb phosphorylation is blocked by p16INK4a, encoded by the CDKN2A locus, which inhibits the kinase activity of Cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex. The CDKN2A locus also encodes another tumor suppressor protein named p14ARF (p19Arf in mouse), which stabilizes p53 by inhibiting MDM2-dependent degradation. Previous studies from our laboratory showed that the cyclin D1 collaborated with the Dmp1 (cyclin D binding myb-like protein 1) tumor suppressor to activate the Arf promoter. To further demonstrate the effect of cyclin D1 on p19Arf and p16Ink4a promoter activity, NIH 3T3 cells and MEF cells were transfected a construct expressing the luciferase reporter gene linked with the Arf promoter together with vector or cyclin D1. Using luciferase reporter assay, we found that the Arf promoter was activated upon cyclin D1 overexpression in both cell lines, and the activation was abrogated when cells were co-transfected with E2F-DB, which displaces endogenous E2Fs and acts in a dominant-negative manner. Consistent with reporter assays, the Arf mRNA was increased in MEFs overexpressing cyclin D1, compared to those infected with vector only. By performing chromatin immunoprecipitation in tumors of mammary gland from MMTV-neu transgenic mice that overexpress cyclin D1, we found that cyclin D1 can interact with the Arf promoter although it cannot directly bind to the Arf promoter region in electrophoretic mobility shift assay using recombinant cyclin D1 protein. To identify the effect of cyclin D1 on p16Ink4a promoter, we performed luciferase reporter assay in NIH 3T3 cells by co-transfecting Ink4a promoter together with vector or cyclin D1. We found that the Ink4a promoter activity was increased upon cyclin D1 overexpression, and the activation was not abrogated when cells were transfected with cyclin D1-K114E that does not bind to CDK4. Taken together, our data suggest that overexpression of cyclin D1 activates both p19Arf and p16Ink4a promoters to prevent neoplastic growth of incipient cancer cells, and the activation is mediated by indirect binding of cyclin D1 to the promoter regions. We are currently mapping the cyclin D1-responsive elements on the Arf and Ink4a promoters to identify transcription factors responsible for Arf/Ink4a induction by cyclin D1. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2958. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2958