Estrogen is a negative regulator of lymphopoiesis and provides an experimental tool for probing relationships between lymphocyte precursors and stem cells. We found that expression of lymphocyte-associated genes and immunoglobulin (Ig) gene rearrangement occurred before CD45R acquisition. Lymphoid-restricted progenitors that were Lin(-)IL-7R alpha(+)c-kit(lo)TdT(+) (lineage marker(-), interleukin receptor 7 alpha(+), c-kit(lo) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase(+)) were selectively depleted in estrogen-treated mice; within a less differentiated Lin-c-kit(hi) fraction, functional precursors of B and T, but not myeloid, cells were also selectively depleted. TdT and an Ig heavy chain transgene were detected within a hormone-regulated Lin(-)c-kit(hi)Sca-1(+)CD27(+)Flk-2(+)IL-7R alpha(-) subset of this multipotential progenitor population. Identification of these extremely early lymphoid precursors should facilitate investigation of the molecular mechanisms that control lineage-fate decisions in hematopoiesis.

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• Ikaros controls cellular proliferation by repressing genes that regulate cell cycle progression and the PI3K pathway in leukemia.• CK2 inhibitor restores Ikaros tumor suppressor function in high-risk B-ALL with IKZF1 deletion and has a strong therapeutic effect in vivo.Ikaros (IKZF1) is a tumor suppressor that binds DNA and regulates expression of its target genes. The mechanism of Ikaros activity as a tumor suppressor and the regulation of Ikaros function in leukemia are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that Ikaros controls cellular proliferation by repressing expression of genes that promote cell cycle progression and the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) pathway. We show that Ikaros function is impaired by the pro-oncogenic casein kinase II (CK2), and that CK2 is overexpressed in leukemia. CK2 inhibition restores Ikaros function as transcriptional repressor of cell cycle and PI3K pathway genes, resulting in an antileukemia effect. In high-risk leukemia where one IKZF1 allele has been deleted, CK2 inhibition restores the transcriptional repressor function of the remaining wild-type IKZF1 allele. CK2 inhibition demonstrated a potent therapeutic effect in a panel of patient-derived primary high-risk B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia xenografts as indicated by prolonged survival and a reduction of leukemia burden. We demonstrate the efficacy of a novel therapeutic approach for high-risk leukemia: restoration of Ikaros tumor suppressor activity via inhibition of CK2. These results provide a rationale for the use of CK2 inhibitors in clinical trials for high-risk leukemia, including cases with deletion of one IKZF1 allele. (Blood. 2015;126(15):1813-1822 Introduction Ikaros (IKZF1) activity is essential for normal hematopoiesis and immune development. [1][2][3][4] Ikaros knockout mice have severely impaired hematopoiesis, 5-7 whereas mice with the heterozygous loss of Ikaros develop T-cell leukemia. 8 In humans, impaired Ikaros activity due to the deletion or inactivating mutation of a single IKZF1 allele results in high-risk B-cell leukemia that is resistant to treatment.9-14 Ikaros regulates transcription of target genes via chromatin remodeling. [15][16][17] Ikaros activity is controlled through multiple mechanisms. Mouse studies suggest that the transcription of IKZF1 during normal hematopoiesis is regulated by a complex network. 18 However, Ikaros protein is expressed at high levels in most hematopoietic cells, and posttranslational modifications are hypothesized to play a critical role in regulating Ikaros activity. 19 Several groups have shown that phosphorylation, [19][20][21][22][23][24] sumoylation, 25 and ubiquitination 22 can regulate Ikaros function as a transcriptional repressor. However, the role of posttranslational modification in the regulation of Ikaros tumor suppressor activity in leukemia is unknown.Despite extensive global analyses of Ikaros DNA binding in normal murine hematopoietic cells, 26-28 the molecular mechanisms by which Ikaros exerts its tumor suppressor effects in human leukemia ...

High-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV) are the causative agents of virtually all cases of cervical cancer and a significant proportion of other anogenital cancers, as well as both oral and pharyngeal cancers. The high-risk types encode two viral oncogenes, E6 and E7, which work together to initiate cell transformation. Multiple steps involving the activities and interactions of both viral and cellular proteins are involved in the progression from HPV infection to cell transformation to cancer. The E6 oncoprotein is expressed as several isoforms: a full-length variant referred to as E6 and a few shorter isoforms collectively referred to as E6*. In this study, we found that expression of E6* increased the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in both HPVpositive and HPV-negative cells. This increased oxidative stress led to higher levels of DNA damage, as assessed by the comet assay, quantification of 8-oxoguanine, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1. The observed increase in ROS may be due to a decrease in cellular antioxidant activity, as we found that E6* expression also led to decreased expression of superoxide dismutase isoform 2 and glutathione peroxidase. These studies indicate that E6* may play an important role in virus-induced mutagenesis by increasing oxidative stress and DNA damage. IMPORTANCEOur findings demonstrate for the first time that an HPV gene product, E6*, can increase ROS levels in host cells. This ability may play a significant role both in the viral life cycle and in cancer development, because an increase in oxidative DNA damage may both facilitate HPV genome amplification and increase the probability of HPV16 DNA integration. Integration, in turn, is thought to be an important step in HPV-mediated carcinogenesis.H igh-risk (HR) types of human papillomavirus (HPV) are the causative agents of virtually all cases of cervical cancer as well as a significant percentage of other anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers. In fact, current estimates indicate that HPV infection may be associated with as many as 93% of anal cancers, 63% of oropharyngeal cancers, 40% of penile cancers, 64% of vaginal cancers, and 51% of vulvar cancers (1). HPV infection accounted for approximately 26,700 cases of HPV-related cancers in the United States (2, 3), and it is estimated that 5.2% of all cancers worldwide can be attributed to HPV infection (4). While the incidence of cervical cancer has declined in the last 30 years due to Pap smear screening, the incidence rates of anal, oropharyngeal, and vulvar cancers steadily increased within the same period (1). These numbers underscore the need for ongoing research into the mechanisms behind HPV-related carcinogenesis.The high-risk types of HPV encode two viral oncogenes, E6 and E7, that together serve as the major initiators of cell transformation (5). Multiple steps are involved in the progression from HPV infection to cellular transformation to cancer. Virus-related factors influencing this progression include virus persistence, viral load, and the repr...

Ikaros encodes a zinc finger protein that is involved in gene regulation and chromatin remodeling. The majority of Ikaros localizes at pericentromeric heterochromatin (PC-HC) where it regulates expression of target genes. Ikaros function is controlled by posttranslational modification. Phosphorylation of Ikaros by CK2 kinase determines its ability to bind DNA and exert cell cycle control as well as its subcellular localization. We report that Ikaros interacts with protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) via a conserved PP1 binding motif, RVXF, in the C-terminal end of the Ikaros protein. Point mutations of the RVXF motif abolish Ikaros-PP1 interaction and result in decreased DNA binding, an inability to localize to PC-HC, and rapid degradation of the Ikaros protein. The introduction of alanine mutations at CK2-phosphorylated residues increases the half-life of the PP1-nonbinding Ikaros mutant. This suggests that dephosphorylation of these sites by PP1 stabilizes the Ikaros protein and prevents its degradation. In the nucleus, Ikaros forms complexes with ubiquitin, providing evidence that Ikaros degradation involves the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway. In vivo, Ikaros can target PP1 to the nucleus, and a fraction of PP1 colocalizes with Ikaros at PC-HC. These data suggest a novel function for the Ikaros protein; that is, the targeting of PP1 to PC-HC and other chromatin structures. We propose a model whereby the function of Ikaros is controlled by the CK2 and PP1 pathways and that a balance between these two signal transduction pathways is essential for normal cellular function and for the prevention of malignant transformation.