Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 and survivin as potential therapeutic targets against nasal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma

Nasal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NNKTL) is closely associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and is characterized by poor prognosis, resulting from rapid progression of lesions in the affected organs. Recent data have shown that NNKTL is associated with the aberrant expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) and its downstream target survivin, but little is known about the functional roles of CDK1 and survivin in NNKTL. In the current study, we show that knockdown of the EBV-encoded oncoprotein latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) induces downregulation of CDK1 and survivin in NNKTL cells. Immunohistochemistry detected CDK1 and survivin expression in LMP1-positive cells of NNKTL biopsy specimens. Inhibition of CDK1 and survivin in NNKTL cells with several inhibitors led to a dose-dependent decrease in cell proliferation. In addition, the Sp1 inhibitor mithramycin, which can downregulate both CDK1 and survivin, significantly suppressed the growth of established NNKTL in a murine xenograft model. Our results suggest that LMP1 upregulation of CDK1 and survivin may be essential for NNKTL progression. Furthermore, targeting CDK1 and survivin with Sp1 inhibitors such as mithramycin may be an effective approach to treat NNKTL, which is considered to be a treatment-refractory lymphoma.