# Functional study of cyclin D3/CDK6 in regulating T-ALL progression via tumor cellular ROS and T cell

> **NIH NIH P20** · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · 2020 · $171,557

## Abstract

Cyclin D3 and cyclin-dependent kinases 6(CDK6) are components of the core cell cycle machinery driving cell proliferation, and generally amplified in T acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). The pro-survival function of cyclin D3/CDK6 in T-ALL cells via phosphorylating/inactivating PFKP and PKM2 (two key enzymes in glycolysis) is recently addressed. Targeting cyclin D3/CDK6 is a promising method for T-ALL therapy. As tumor microenvironment cell play critical roles in regulating tumor progression, it is critical/urgent to understand the functions of cyclin D3/CDK6 in tumor microenvironment cells. Our preliminary study showed that cyclin D3/CDK6 expression was significantly upregulated in T cells under activation condition. Ablation of cyclin D3 or CFK6 dramatically decreased regulatory T cell (Tregs) population without inducing cell apoptosis. Tregs promote tumor progression by inhibiting T help cells and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells. We therefore hypothesized that cyclin D3/CDK6 regulate T-ALL progression via T-ALL prosurvival and Tregs differentiation. This study will provide the rational to treat T-ALL by targeting cyclin D3/CDK6.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10244667
- **Project number:** 5P20GM103542-10
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- **Principal Investigator:** Haizhen Wang
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $171,557
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2022-01-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10244667

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10244667, Functional study of cyclin D3/CDK6 in regulating T-ALL progression via tumor cellular ROS and T cell (5P20GM103542-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10244667. Licensed CC0.

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