RNF6 is a little-studied ring finger protein. In the present study, we found that RNF6 was overexpressed in various leukemia cells and that it accelerated leukemia cell proliferation, whereas knockdown of RNF6 delayed tumor growth in xenografts. To find out the mechanism of RNF6 overexpression in leukemia, we designed a series of truncated constructs of RNF6 regulatory regions in the luciferase reporter system. The results revealed that the region between Ű144 and Ű99 upstream of the RNF6 transcription start site was critical and that this region contained a PBX1 recognition element (PRE). PBX1 modulated RNF6 expression by binding to the specific PRE. When PRE was mutated, RNF6 transcription was completely abolished. Further studies showed that PBX1 collaborated with PREP1 but not MEIS1 to modulate RNF6 expression. Moreover, RNF6 expression could be suppressed by doxorubicin, a major anti-leukemia agent, via down-regulating PBX1. This study thus suggests that RNF6 overexpression in leukemia is under the direction of PBX1 and that the PBX1/RNF6 axis can be developed as a novel therapeutic target of leukemia.The ring finger protein 6 (RNF6) belongs to the largest RING ubiquitin ligase family, and it is mapped to chromosome band 13q12.2, a harbor of several critical tumor suppressor genes (1). RNF6 is believed to be a tumor suppressor because of its chromosomal location and somatic mutations in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (2), but confirmative evidence is not available. In contrast, recent studies suggest that RNF6 is probably an oncogene. RNF6 is found at a high level in prostate cancers. As a ubiquitin ligase, RNF6 interacts with androgen receptor (AR) 3 and mediates atypical polyubiquitination chains at Lys-6 and Lys-27, thus promoting the transcriptional activity of AR by facilitating its binding to the coactivators (3). By modulating AR function, RNF6 promotes prostate cancer cell growth. In contrast, mutations and specific knockdown of RNF6 alter AR transcriptional activity and delay prostate cancer growth in xenograft models (3). RNF6 is also elevated in cisplatin-resistant human lung adenocarcinoma cells (4). Therefore, RNF6 probably plays a critical role in tumorigenesis and chemoresistance. However, the studies on RNF6 are very limited, and the biological functions and modulation of RNF6 are largely unknown.In the present study, we evaluated the RNF6 function in leukemia cells and found that RNF6 is overexpressed in leukemia cells and contributes to leukemia cell proliferation. Furthermore, RNF6 overexpression in leukemia is found to be modulated by the transcription factor PBX1, the pre-B-cell leukemia homeobox 1.