CDK12 is hyperactivated and a synthetic-lethal target in BRAF-mutated melanoma

Thibault Houles, Geneviève Lavoie, Sami Nourreddine, Winnie Cheung, Éric Vaillancourt-Jean, Célia M. Guérin, Mathieu Bouttier, Benoit Grondin, Sichun Lin, Marc K. Saba-El-Leil, Stephane Angers, Sylvain Meloche and Philippe P. Roux ()
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Thibault Houles: Université de Montréal, Montreal, 2950, Chemin de la Polytechnique
Geneviève Lavoie: Université de Montréal, Montreal, 2950, Chemin de la Polytechnique
Sami Nourreddine: Université de Montréal, Montreal, 2950, Chemin de la Polytechnique
Winnie Cheung: Université de Montréal, Montreal, 2950, Chemin de la Polytechnique
Éric Vaillancourt-Jean: Université de Montréal, Montreal, 2950, Chemin de la Polytechnique
Célia M. Guérin: Université de Montréal, Montreal, 2950, Chemin de la Polytechnique
Mathieu Bouttier: Université de Montréal, Montreal, 2950, Chemin de la Polytechnique
Benoit Grondin: Université de Montréal, Montreal, 2950, Chemin de la Polytechnique
Sichun Lin: University of Toronto
Marc K. Saba-El-Leil: Université de Montréal, Montreal, 2950, Chemin de la Polytechnique
Stephane Angers: University of Toronto
Sylvain Meloche: Université de Montréal, Montreal, 2950, Chemin de la Polytechnique
Philippe P. Roux: Université de Montréal, Montreal, 2950, Chemin de la Polytechnique

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and considered intrinsically resistant to chemotherapy. Nearly all melanomas harbor mutations that activate the RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, which contributes to drug resistance via poorly described mechanisms. Herein we show that the RAS/MAPK pathway regulates the activity of cyclin-dependent kinase 12 (CDK12), which is a transcriptional CDK required for genomic stability. We find that melanoma cells harbor constitutively high CDK12 activity, and that its inhibition decreases the expression of long genes containing multiple exons, including many genes involved in DNA repair. Conversely, our results show that CDK12 inhibition promotes the expression of short genes with few exons, including many growth-promoting genes regulated by the AP-1 and NF-κB transcription factors. Inhibition of these pathways strongly synergize with CDK12 inhibitors to suppress melanoma growth, suggesting promising drug combinations for more effective melanoma treatment.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34179-8

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