27 5 Endocrine-Related H H Milioli et al. Cyclin E1 and cyclin E2 in ER+ 27:5 R93–R112 Cancer breast cancer REVIEW Cyclin E1 and cyclin E2 in ER+ breast cancer: prospects as biomarkers and therapeutic targets H H Milioli1,2, S Alexandrou1, E Lim1,2 and C E Caldon1,2 1Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2St Vincent’s Clinical School, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Correspondence should be addressed to C E Caldon: [email protected] This article was commissioned following sponsorship of the 7th PacRim Breast and Prostate Meeting by Endocrine-Related Cancer Abstract Cyclin E1 is one the most promising biomarkers in estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast Key Words cancer for response to the new standard of care drug class, CDK4/6 inhibitors. Because f CDK4/6 inhibitors of its strong predictive value, cyclin E1 expression may be used in the future to triage f breast cancer patients into potential responders and non-responders. Importantly, cyclin E1 is highly f endocrine therapy related to cyclin E2, and both cyclin E1 and cyclin E2 are estrogen target genes that can resistance facilitate anti-estrogen resistance and can be highly expressed in breast cancer. However f cyclin E1 cyclin E1 and E2 are often expressed in different subsets of patients. This raises questions f cyclin E2 about whether the expression of cyclin E1 and cyclin E2 have different biological drivers, if high expressing subsets represent different clinical subtypes, and how to effectively develop a biomarker for E-cyclin expression. Finally, several pan-CDK inhibitors that target cyclin E-CDK2 activity have reached Phase II clinical trials. In this review, we outline the data identifying that different cohorts of patients have high expression of cyclins E1 and E2 in ER+ cancer and address the implications for biomarker and therapeutic development. Endocrine-Related Cancer (2020) 27, R93–R112 Cyclin E1 and E2 are core cell cycle proteins The cell cycle is the core machinery that a cell engages in its unphosphorylated form inhibits progression into order to undergo a round of DNA replication, replicate S phase. During G1/S phase, cyclin dependent kinases its cellular contents, and undergo a cell division. Each (CDKs) phosphorylate Rb; first CDK4/6 is activated by cell cycle consists of functional phases: G1 is the phase cyclin D1, D2, or D3 to phosphorylate Rb, followed by where cells ready themselves for DNA replication and phosphorylation by CDK2 in complex with cyclin E1 commit to a cell cycle, during S phase cells undergo or cyclin E2 (Table 1). Phosphorylated Rb releases E2F DNA replication, and G2/M coordinates mitosis. The G1 transcription factors to upregulate genes necessary for to S phase of the cell cycle has particular importance in DNA replication and mitosis. The cyclin E1/E2-CDK2 cancer, as this is the point where cells commit to another complexes, as well as phosphorylating Rb, phosphorylate round of cell division, and this threshold is weakened a large number of other target proteins involved in DNA in many cancer cells. The gatekeeper for the G1/S phase replication and histone transcription. In this way the transition is the Retinoblastoma (Rb) protein which in CDK2 kinase synchronises multiple cell cycle events to https://erc.bioscientifica.com © 2020 Society for Endocrinology https://doi.org/10.1530/ERC-19-0501 Published by Bioscientifica Ltd. Printed in Great Britain Downloaded from Bioscientifica.com at 09/29/2021 10:44:13PM via free access -19-0501 Endocrine-Related H H Milioli et al. Cyclin E1 and cyclin E2 in ER+ 27:5 R94 Cancer breast cancer Table 1 Cyclin-CDK complexes in the cell cycle. Phase of cell cycle Cyclin CDK binding partner CDK inhibitors References INK4A G1 Cyclin D1/D2/D3 CDK4 p16 (Sherr & Roberts 1999, CDK6 p15INK4B Sheppard & McArthur 2013) p18INK4C p19INK4D Cip1/Waf1 G1 / S phase transition Cyclin E1/E2 CDK2 p21 (Prall et al. 1997) S phase Cyclin E1/E2 p27Kip1 Cyclin A2 p57Kip2 G2 / M phase transition Cyclin A2 CDK1 (CDC2) (Yam et al. 2002) M phase Cyclin B1 WEE1 (Fung & Poon 2005) MYT1 allow for successful DNA replication and cell division. The major isoform of cyclin E1 is a 395 amino acid A further level of control is added through the CDK protein transcribed from the 19q12 locus, and cyclin inhibitor proteins p21Cip1/Waf1 and p27Kip1, which can E2 encodes a 69.3% similar protein of 404 amino inhibit the CDK4, CDK6, and CDK2 complexes to fine acids, transcribed from an independent gene located tune their activity (Fig. 1). at chromosome 8q22. As we have described previously In addition to their canonical S phase roles, cyclins E1 (Caldon & Musgrove 2010), the E-cyclin genes are and E2 coordinate other cell cycle functions, often without conserved in vertebrates, but a single E-type cyclin is a requirement for CDK2. Cyclin E1 and E2 physically encoded in invertebrates such as Drosophila melanogaster. localize to centrosomes (Rogers et al. 2015), where cyclin There are some critical differences in function between the E1 binds to Minichromosome Maintenance Complex two E-cyclins, the most striking of which is that cyclin E2-/- Component 5 (MCM5) (Ferguson & Maller 2008) and male mice are infertile, while cyclin E1-/- mice have normal cyclins E1 and E2 facilitate loading of MCM replicative fertility. There are also some examples of CDK targets that helicases in cells exiting quiescence (Geng et al. 2007). appear unique to either cyclin: SAMHD1, which controls Cyclin E1 promotes proliferation in a CDK2 independent dNTP cellular pools, is a specific target of cyclin E2-CDK2 manner in hepatocytes and hepatocellular carcinoma, (Hu et al. 2018), and NPAT, a master regulator of histone and this may be due to the kinase independent roles at transcription, which preferentially co-localises with cyclin the centrosome and during re-entry from quiescence E2 (Rogers et al. 2015). Another key difference between (Geng et al. 2018). cyclin E1 and E2 is that cyclin E1 can be cleaved into a low molecular weight (LMW) protein, which hyperactivates CYCLIN E/CDK2 CYCLIN E/CDK2 CDK2, has increased cytoplasmic localisation and altered CDK2 ACTIVE LABILE P substrate interactions (Caruso et al. 2018). CDK2 CDK2 P GSK-3β Despite these differences, cyclins E1 and E2 can P E1 or E2 E1 or E2 substitute for many of each other’s function (Geng et al. P P 7 x cyclin E1 cyclin E2 xw Fb 2003) and show similar cell cycle expression (Gudas SCF et al. p21 Ub p27 comple 1999). What has become increasingly apparent is that Ub Ub cyclin E1 and E2 diverge in their expression in cancer Skp2 CDK2 CDK4/6 Cul3 SPOP SCF p21 p21 (Caldon et al. 2009, 2013a,b, Caldon & Musgrove 2010). complex p27 p27 E1 or E2 D1/D2/D3 This could represent activation by distinct transcriptional CYCLIN E/CDK2 CYCLIN D/CDK4-6 cascades or regulators, independent amplification events, INACTIVE INACTIVE or it may represent differences in function. Figure 1 Activation and de-activation of cyclin E1/E2-CDK2. CDK2 binds with either cyclin E1 or cyclin E2 to form cyclin E-CDK2 complexes. Cyclin E1 monomers can be ubiquitinated by Cul3 and SPOP and cyclin E1/E2 Alterations to cyclin E1 and cyclin E2 in cancer monomers by SCFSkp2 complexes, leading to proteosomal degradation. Cyclin E-CDK2 complexes can be inhibited by CDK inhibitors p21Waf1/Cip1, Cyclin E1 and cyclin E2 drive proliferation and p27Kip1, and p57Kip2, but cyclin D-CDK4/6 complexes compete for these inhibitors. Active cyclin E-CDK2 complexes autophosphorylate cyclin E, genome instability in cancer priming for further GSK-3β mediated phosphorylation. Phosphorylated cyclin E is recognised for SCFFbxw7 mediated ubiquitination, followed by As core cell cycle regulators, cyclins E1 and E2 have the proteosomal degradation. capacity to drive excessive proliferation when deregulated https://erc.bioscientifica.com © 2020 Society for Endocrinology https://doi.org/10.1530/ERC-19-0501 Published by Bioscientifica Ltd. Printed in Great Britain Downloaded from Bioscientifica.com at 09/29/2021 10:44:13PM via free access Endocrine-Related H H Milioli et al. Cyclin E1 and cyclin E2 in ER+ 27:5 R95 Cancer breast cancer in cancer. Cyclin E1 can act as a bona fide oncogene to highlighted as driver oncogenes for this amplification drive the formation of tumours when constitutively event (Li et al. 2010). overexpressed in the mouse mammary gland, albeit Cyclins E1 and E2 undergo strong cyclical regulation with low penetrance (10%) and long latency (Bortner & due to their pivotal roles in cell cycle progression. In Rosenberg 1997). In many cancer cell line models cyclin G0 and G1 the CCNE1 and CCNE2 genes are repressed E1 overexpression will increase the proportion of cells via inhibitory deacetylation and methylation of their in S phase, leading to increased Rb phosphorylation and promoter regions (Caldon & Musgrove 2010). Both cyclin cell proliferation (Hwang & Clurman 2005). Cyclin E2 E1 and E2 are then upregulated during late G1 following overexpression has not been assessed in mouse models, E2F transcription factor activation, along with the but in cell line models its overexpression also leads to recruitment of co-factors such as CARM1, SRC, and CHD8 increased S phase fraction and proliferation (Zariwala et al. (reviewed in Caldon & Musgrove 2010). Consequently, 1998, Gudas et al. 1999). Inhibition of CDK2 has a cyclin E1 and E2 gene expression is responsive to growth profound anti-proliferative effect (Horiuchi et al. 2012), factor signalling downstream of SRC, and other factors. and downregulation of either cyclin E1 or E2 can inhibit Further differential expression of CCNE1 and CCNE2 proliferation (Caldon et al.