Cited by 336RNA Research and SplicingDNA Repair MechanismsPARP inhibition in cancer therapy

CDK12 regulates DNA repair genes by suppressing intronic polyadenylation

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Dubbury, Sara J., Boutz, Paul L., Sharp, Phillip A.·2018·Nature

Abstract

Mutations that attenuate homologous recombination (HR)-mediated repair promote tumorigenesis and sensitize cells to chemotherapeutics that cause replication fork collapse, a phenotype known as 'BRCAness'1. BRCAness tumours arise from loss-of-function mutations in 22 genes 1. Of these genes, all but one (CDK12) function directly in the HR repair pathway 1. CDK12 phosphorylates serine 2 of the RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain heptapeptide repeat 2-7, a modification that regulates transcription elongation, splicing, and cleavage and polyadenylation 8,9. Genome-wide expression studies suggest that depletion of CDK12 abrogates the expression of several HR genes relatively specifically, thereby blunting HR repair 3-7,10,11. This observation suggests that the mutational status of CDK12 may predict sensitivity to targeted treatments against BRCAness, such as PARP1 inhibitors, and that CDK12 inhibitors may induce sensitization of HR-competent tumours to these treatments 6,7,10,11. Despite growing clinical interest, the mechanism by which CDK12 regulates HR genes remains unknown. Here we show that CDK12 globally suppresses intronic polyadenylation events in mouse embryonic stem cells, enabling the production of full-length gene products. Many HR genes harbour more intronic polyadenylation sites than other expressed genes, and these sites are particularly sensitive to loss of CDK12. The cumulative effect of these sites accounts for the enhanced sensitivity of HR gene expression to CDK12 loss, and we find that this mechanism is conserved in human tumours that contain loss-of-function CDK12 mutations. This work clarifies the function of CDK12 and underscores its potential both as a chemotherapeutic target and as a tumour biomarker.

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Authors
Dubbury, S. J., Boutz, P. L., & Sharp, P. A.
Affiliations
  • Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research At MIT (US)
  • University of Rochester Medicine (US)
Corresponding author
Sharp, Phillip A.
Venue
Nature
Published
2018-11-28
Volume
564
Issue
7734
Pages
141-145
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2806593114
Cited by
318
References
51
Citations by year
2026: 48 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 54 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 46 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 23
FWCI
8.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Funders
  • Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P30-CA14051)
  • National Institutes of Health (GM034277, R01-GM034277)
  • U.S. Public Health Service (P30-CA14051, R01-GM034277, R01CA133404)
  • National Cancer Institute (R01CA133404, P01CA042063, CA14051, R01CA226898, P30CA014051, P30-CA-14051)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01GM034277, T32GM007287)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA Research and Splicing
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › DNA Repair Mechanisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › PARP inhibition in cancer therapy
Keywords
CDK12, intronic polyadenylation, homologous recombination, DNA repair genes, BRCAness, PARP-1 inhibitors, CDK12 inhibitors, tumour biomarkers, chemosensitization, mouse embryonic stem cells
MeSH terms
Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells, Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors, Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase-1, Loss of Function Mutation, Animals, DNA Damage, DNA Repair, Humans, Introns, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mutation, Neoplasms, Phosphorylation, RNA Polymerase II, Serine, Biomarkers, Tumor, Cyclin-Dependent Kinases, Polyadenylation, Mice, Molecular Targeted Therapy, Homologous Recombination, Transcription Elongation, Genetic

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