Cyclin E phosphorylation regulates cell proliferation in hematopoietic and epithelial lineages in vivo

Abstract

Phosphorylations within N- and C-terminal degrons independently control the binding of cyclin E to the SCFFbw7 and thus its ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. We have now determined the physiologic significance of cyclin E degradation by this pathway. We describe the construction of a knockin mouse in which both degrons were mutated by threonine to alanine substitutions (cyclin ET74A T393A) and report that ablation of both degrons abolished regulation of cyclin E by Fbw7. The cyclin ET74A T393A mutation disrupted cyclin E periodicity and caused cyclin E to continuously accumulate as cells reentered the cell cycle from quiescence. In vivo, the cyclin ET74A T393A mutation greatly increased cyclin E activity and caused proliferative anomalies. Cyclin ET74A T393A mice exhibited abnormal erythropoiesis characterized by a large expansion of abnormally proliferating progenitors, impaired differentiation, dysplasia, and anemia. This syndrome recapitulates many features of early stage human refractory anemia/myelodysplastic syndrome, including ineffective erythropoiesis. Epithelial cells also proliferated abnormally in cyclin E knockin mice, and the cyclin ET74A T393A mutation delayed mammary gland involution, implicating cyclin E degradation in this anti-mitogenic response. Hyperproliferative mammary epithelia contained increased apoptotic cells, suggesting that apoptosis contributes to tissue homeostasis in the setting of cyclin E deregulation. Overall these data show the critical role of both degrons in regulating cyclin E activity and reveal that complete loss of Fbw7-mediated cyclin E degradation causes spontaneous and cell type-specific proliferative anomalies.