MV persistence infection of a human neuroblastoma cell line (UKF-NB-MV), exhibit high miRNA-124 expression, and reduced expression of cyclin dependent kinase 6 (CDK6), a known target of miRNA-124, resulting in slower cell division but not cell death.
This suggests an involvement of G(1)-regulating genes in neuronal differentiation processes which we further evaluated using RNA interference against Cyclin D1 and its kinase partners CDK4 and CDK6 in several neuroblastoma cell lines.
No mutations to the p16-binding site of CDK4 and CDK6 nor any mutations to the coding region of p16 itself were identified in neuroblastoma cell lines.
A bona fide CDK6 mutation that disrupts p16INK4a binding and prevents inhibition of CDK6 protein kinase activity was identified in 1 of 17 neuroblastoma cell lines.