Targeting the MYC Oncogene with CDK Inhibitors

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The promise of molecular targeted therapy for cancer is to provide selective killing of tumor cells while sparing normal cells. Targeted therapy, however, requires that the oncogenic pathways activated in tumor cells can be defined, and that selective inhibitors can be found to abrogate these pathways. One major limitation to targeted therapeutic approaches is that many oncogenic pathways, especially those involving transcription factors, cannot be directly inhibited with small molecule compounds. An alternative approach is to use small molecule inhibitors that target basic cellular processes, such as the cell cycle, which merely arrest normal cells, but which in combination with activation of particular oncogenic pathways result in synthetic-lethal combinations. Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are a conserved family of protein kinases that play a central role in regulating the eukaryotic cell cycle. CDK1 and CDK2 are thought to be particularly important for driving the major cell cycle events in normal and neoplastic mammalian cells and these kinases might therefore be important targets for cancer therapy. The overall hypothesis that is being tested is whether inhibition of different CDKs can result in selective killing of tumor versus normal cells. (1) We seek to determine the genetic context in which cells are rendered especially sensitive to CDK inhibitors, resulting in cell death or another abortive cell cycle program. (2) We seek to determine how MYC oncogene over- expression sensitizes to cell death following CDK1 inhibition. (3) We seek to understand the molecular basis for cell death induced by CDK inhibition. To accomplish our goals we will utilize two complementary approaches to address this question. Both conventional small-molecule CDK inhibitors as well as a chemical-genetic approach will be employed to identify the genetic context in which CDK inhibitors may prove to be useful therapeutics. Our hypothesis, if confirmed, will significantly improve our understanding of how CDK inhibitors may be useful to target specific oncogenic pathways and should lead to novel therapeutics for cancer.