Myc activation of cyclin E/Cdk2 kinase involves induction of cyclin E gene transcription and inhibition of p27(Kip1) binding to newly formed complexes.

Induction of the Myc-oestrogen receptor fusion protein (MycER) by 4-OH-tamoxifen (OHT) leads to the activation of Cyclin E/Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CycE/Cdk2) complexes followed by the induction of DNA synthesis. As CycE/Cdk2 activity is essential for G1/S transition, we have investigated the mechanism by which Myc can activiate CycE/Cdk2. Our results suggest that this activation may involve at least two Myc-dependent steps: the induction of cyclin E gene transcription followed by accumulation of cyclin E mRNA in a protein synthesis-independent manner and the inhibition of p27(Kip1) association with CycE/Cdk2 complexes containing newly synthesised CycE. As a consequence phosphorylation of CycE-bound Cdk2 by cyclin activating kinase (CAK) is accelerated. We propose a model in which the active newly synthesised CycE/Cdk2 complexes trigger a positive feed-back mechanism to activate preexisting complexes through phosphorylation-dependent p27(Kip1) release.