Cyclin K dependent regulation of Aurora B affects apoptosis and proliferation by induction of mitotic catastrophe in prostate cancer

Cyclin K plays a critical role in transcriptional regulation as well as cell development. However, the role of Cyclin K in prostate cancer is unknown. Here, we describe the impact of Cyclin K on prostate cancer cells and examine the clinical relevance of Cyclin K as a biomarker for patients with prostate cancer. We show that Cyclin K depletion in prostate cancer cells induces apoptosis and inhibits proliferation accompanied by an accumulation of cells in the G2/M phase. Moreover, knockdown of Cyclin K causes mitotic catastrophe displayed by multinucleation and spindle multipolarity. Furthermore, we demonstrate a Cyclin K dependent regulation of the mitotic kinase Aurora B and provide evidence for an Aurora B dependent induction of mitotic catastrophe. In addition, we show that Cyclin K expression is associated with poor biochemical recurrence-free survival in patients with prostate cancer treated with an adjuvant therapy. In conclusion, targeting Cyclin K represents a novel, promising anti-cancer strategy to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death through induction of mitotic catastrophe in prostate cancer cells. Moreover, our results indicate that Cyclin K is a putative predictive biomarker for clinical outcome and therapy response for patients with prostate cancer.