Aberrant activation of CaMKIIγ accelerates chronic myeloid leukemia blast crisis

Blast crisis (BC) is the final deadly phase of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), but its molecular basis remains poorly understood. Here, we show that CML BC is regulated by calcium-calmodulin-dependent kinase IIγ (CaMKIIγ). Genetic deletion of CaMKIIγ greatly inhibits disease progression via selectively impairing the self-renewal of leukemia stem cells (LSCs) in mouse models, whereas overexpression of CaMKIIγ has the opposite effects. In human CML, phosphorylated CaMKIIγ abundance is significantly associated with BC. Moreover, CaMKIIγ phosphorylates and reduces the nuclear cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1, a critical brake that maintains LSC quiescence. These findings suggest that CaMKIIγ might be an important switch for the transition of CML BC and identify a unique mechanism by which CaMKIIγ promotes the self-renewal of LSCs by deceasing nuclear p27Kip1 to wake up dormant LSCs. Therefore, CaMKIIγ may provide a new therapeutic target to treat CML BC.