Project description:Cyclin-dependent kinases 12 and 13 (CDK12 and CDK13) play critical roles in the regulation of gene transcription. However, the absence of CDK12 and CDK13 inhibitors has hindered the ability to investigate the consequences of their inhibition in healthy cells and cancer cells. Here we describe the rational design of a first-in-class CDK12 and CDK13 covalent inhibitor, THZ531. Co-crystallization of THZ531 with CDK12–cyclin K indicates that THZ531 irreversibly targets a cysteine located outside the kinase domain. THZ531 causes a loss of gene expression with concurrent loss of elongating and hyperphosphorylated RNA polymerase II. In particular, THZ531 substantially decreases the expression of DNA damage response genes and key super-enhancer-associated transcription factor genes. Coincident with transcriptional perturbation, THZ531 dramatically induced apoptotic cell death. Small molecules capable of specifically targeting CDK12 and CDK13 may thus help identify cancer subtypes that are particularly dependent on their kinase activities.
Project description:Cyclin-dependent kinases 12 and 13 (CDK12 and CDK13) play critical roles in the regulation of gene transcription. However, the absence of CDK12 and CDK13 inhibitors has hindered the ability to investigate the consequences of their inhibition in healthy cells and cancer cells. Here we describe the rational design of a first-in-class CDK12 and CDK13 covalent inhibitor, THZ531. Co-crystallization of THZ531 with CDK12–cyclin K indicates that THZ531 irreversibly targets a cysteine located outside the kinase domain. THZ531 causes a loss of gene expression with concurrent loss of elongating and hyperphosphorylated RNA polymerase II. In particular, THZ531 substantially decreases the expression of DNA damage response genes and key super-enhancer-associated transcription factor genes. Coincident with transcriptional perturbation, THZ531 dramatically induced apoptotic cell death. Small molecules capable of specifically targeting CDK12 and CDK13 may thus help identify cancer subtypes that are particularly dependent on their kinase activities.
Project description:CDK12 and CDK13 promote transcription elongation within the gene body and regulate the processivity of RNAPII. THZ531 inhibits the enzymatic activity of CDK12 and 13 through covalent binding. Gene expression profiling was performed to investigate the THZ531-induced transcription effect, and search the subset of sensitive genes in osteosarcoma cell lines, U2-OS and SJSA-1.
Project description:We report the total RNA-seq results after CDK9, CDK12 and CDK13 depletion in human HCT116 cells for three days. RNA-seq was performed in cells using two non-targeting replicates and two different shRNAs for each CDK knockdown. For each CDK knockdown, most of the differentially expressed genes were down-regulated with a very small subset of genes upregulated. Different CDK proteins control distinct subsets of genes in vivo, with CDK12 and CDK13 sharing more overlap in function compared to CDK9. Besides, CDK12 and CDK13 loss preferentially affects DNA damage response and snRNA gene expression, respectively.
Project description:Covalent inhibitors and chemical probes targeting ligandable cysteine residues have emerged as powerful tools in drug discovery and proteomics. In this study, we introduce vinyl-phosphonamidates (VPAs) as a novel class of latent cysteine electrophiles and assess their reactivity, selectivity, and potential for developing covalent inhibitors. Compared to well-established chloroacetamide and acrylamide electrophiles VPAs exhibit a significantly lower intrinsic reactivity towards the model thiol glutathione. Moreover, VPA-derived covalent fragments displayed only very limited non-specific reactivity in human cell lysate. Encouraged by these results, we developed VPA-functionalized derivatives of the FDA-approved covalent inhibitors Afatinib and Ibrutinib and evaluated their ability to engage the target protein by gel-based and mass spectrometry-based activity based protein profiling (ABPP). Compared to commonly employed Michael-acceptor based electrophilic groups, PA-functionalized drug ligands displayed significantly less off-targets while maintaining inhibitor efficiency. Furthermore, we leveraged the modular nature and accessibility of VPAs to develop a bifunctional proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC) for targeted protein degradation. The demonstrated selectivity and modularity, as exemplified by the incorporation of various ligands on the phosphorus O-substituent, of the vinyl-phosphonamidate group as a cysteine-directed electrophile highlights its ability to expand the chemical space in the development of covalent inhibitors with a favourable proteome-wide reactivity profile.
Project description:We used 3' RNA-Seq to determine the effects of analog senstive CDK12, CDK13 and dual inhibition on gene expression and polyadenatltion site usages, and to test the redundancy between CDK12 and CDK13 in maintaining global transcrition on the tramcrotpomte level.
Project description:The RNA polymerase II (POLII) driven transcription cycle is tightly regulated at distinct checkpoints through cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) and their cognate Cyclins. The molecular events underpinning transcriptional elongation and processivity and CDK-Cyclins involved remain poorly understood. Using CRISPR-CAS9 homology-directed-repair we generated analog-sensitive-kinase variants of CDK12 and CDK13 to probe their individual and shared biological and molecular roles. Single inhibition of CDK12 or CDK13 induced transcriptional responses associated with DNA-damage and cellular growth signaling pathways respectively, with minimal effects on cell viability. In contrast, dual-kinase inhibition potently induced cell death, which was associated with extensive genome-wide transcriptional changes including wide-spread use of alternative 3’ polyadenylation sites. At the molecular level dual-kinase inhibition resulted in the loss of POLII CTD phosphorylation and greatly reduced POLII elongation rates and processivity. These data define significant redundancy between CDK12 and CDK13, and identify both as fundamental regulators of global POLII processivity and transcription elongation.