scholarly journals Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase Is Required for Activation of Iκb Kinase and Nuclear Factor κb in Response to B Cell Receptor Engagement

2000 ◽  
Vol 191 (10) ◽  
pp. 1745-1754 ◽  
Author(s):  
James B. Petro ◽  
S.M. Jamshedur Rahman ◽  
Dean W. Ballard ◽  
Wasif N. Khan

Mutations in the gene encoding Bruton's tyrosine kinase (btk) cause the B cell deficiency diseases X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) in humans and X-linked immunodeficiency (xid) in mice. In vivo and in vitro studies indicate that the BTK protein is essential for B cell survival, cell cycle progression, and proliferation in response to B cell antigen receptor (BCR) stimulation. BCR stimulation leads to the activation of transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-κB, which in turn regulates genes controlling B cell growth. We now demonstrate that a null mutation in btk known to cause the xid phenotype prevents BCR-induced activation of NF-κB. This defect can be rescued by reconstitution with wild-type BTK. This mutation also interferes with BCR-directed activation of IκB kinase (IKK), which normally targets the NF-κB inhibitor IκBα for degradation. Taken together, these findings indicate that BTK couples IKK and NF-κB to the BCR. Interference with this coupling mechanism may contribute to the B cell deficiencies observed in XLA and xid.

Author(s):  
Stefan F. H. Neys ◽  
Rudi W. Hendriks ◽  
Odilia B. J. Corneth

Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) was discovered due to its importance in B cell development, and it has a critical role in signal transduction downstream of the B cell receptor (BCR). Targeting of BTK with small molecule inhibitors has proven to be efficacious in several B cell malignancies. Interestingly, recent studies reveal increased BTK protein expression in circulating resting B cells of patients with systemic autoimmune disease (AID) compared with healthy controls. Moreover, BTK phosphorylation following BCR stimulation in vitro was enhanced. In addition to its role in BCR signaling, BTK is involved in many other pathways, including pattern recognition, Fc, and chemokine receptor signaling in B cells and myeloid cells. This broad involvement in several immunological pathways provides a rationale for the targeting of BTK in the context of inflammatory and systemic AID. Accordingly, numerous in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies support the potential of BTK targeting in these conditions. Efficacy of BTK inhibitors in various inflammatory and AID has been demonstrated or is currently evaluated in clinical trials. In addition, very recent reports suggest that BTK inhibition may be effective as immunosuppressive therapy to diminish pulmonary hyperinflammation in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Here, we review BTK’s function in key signaling pathways in B cells and myeloid cells. Further, we discuss recent advances in targeting BTK in inflammatory and autoimmune pathologies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 307 (6) ◽  
pp. L435-L448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Krupa ◽  
Marek Fol ◽  
Moshiur Rahman ◽  
Karen Y. Stokes ◽  
Jon M. Florence ◽  
...  

Previous observations made by our laboratory indicate that Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) may play an important role in the pathophysiology of local inflammation in acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We have shown that there is cross talk between FcγRIIa and TLR4 in alveolar neutrophils from patients with ALI/ARDS and that Btk mediates the molecular cooperation between these two receptors. To study the function of Btk in vivo we have developed a unique two-hit model of ALI: LPS/immune complex (IC)-induced ALI. Furthermore, we conjugated F(ab)2 fragments of anti-neutrophil antibodies (Ly6G1A8) with specific siRNA for Btk to silence Btk specifically in alveolar neutrophils. It should be stressed that we are the first group to perform noninvasive transfections of neutrophils, both in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, our present findings indicate that silencing Btk in alveolar neutrophils has a dramatic protective effect in mice with LPS/IC-induced ALI, and that Btk regulates neutrophil survival and clearance of apoptotic neutrophils in this model. In conclusion, we put forward a hypothesis that Btk-targeted neutrophil specific therapy is a valid goal of research geared toward restoring homeostasis in lungs of patients with ALI/ARDS.


2016 ◽  
Vol 310 (5) ◽  
pp. C373-C380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel A. Rigg ◽  
Joseph E. Aslan ◽  
Laura D. Healy ◽  
Michael Wallisch ◽  
Marisa L. D. Thierheimer ◽  
...  

The Tec family kinase Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) plays an important signaling role downstream of immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs in hematopoietic cells. Mutations in Btk are involved in impaired B-cell maturation in X-linked agammaglobulinemia, and Btk has been investigated for its role in platelet activation via activation of the effector protein phospholipase Cγ2 downstream of the platelet membrane glycoprotein VI (GPVI). Because of its role in hematopoietic cell signaling, Btk has become a target in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma; the covalent Btk inhibitor ibrutinib was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of these conditions. Antihemostatic events have been reported in some patients taking ibrutinib, although the mechanism of these events remains unknown. We sought to determine the effects of Btk inhibition on platelet function in a series of in vitro studies of platelet activation, spreading, and aggregation. Our results show that irreversible inhibition of Btk with two ibrutinib analogs in vitro decreased human platelet activation, phosphorylation of Btk, P-selectin exposure, spreading on fibrinogen, and aggregation under shear flow conditions. Short-term studies of ibrutinib analogs administered in vivo also showed abrogation of platelet aggregation in vitro, but without measurable effects on plasma clotting times or on bleeding in vivo. Taken together, our results suggest that inhibition of Btk significantly decreased GPVI-mediated platelet activation, spreading, and aggregation in vitro; however, prolonged bleeding was not observed in a model of bleeding.


2000 ◽  
Vol 191 (10) ◽  
pp. 1735-1744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Urmila D. Bajpai ◽  
Keming Zhang ◽  
Mark Teutsch ◽  
Ranjan Sen ◽  
Henry H. Wortis

The recognition of antigen by membrane immunoglobulin M (mIgM) results in a complex series of signaling events in the cytoplasm leading to gene activation. Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), a member of the Tec family of tyrosine kinases, is essential for the full repertoire of IgM signals to be transduced. We examined the ability of BTK to regulate the nuclear factor (NF)-κB/Rel family of transcription factors, as the activation of these factors is required for a B cell response to mIgM. We found greatly diminished IgM- but not CD40-mediated NF-κB/Rel nuclear translocation and DNA binding in B cells from X-linked immunodeficient (xid) mice that harbor an R28C mutation in btk, a mutation that produces a functionally inactive kinase. The defect was due, in part, to a failure to fully degrade the inhibitory protein of NF-κB, IκBα. Using a BTK-deficient variant of DT40 chicken B cells, we found that expression of wild-type or gain-of-function mutant BTK, but not the R28C mutant, reconstituted NF-κB activity. Thus, BTK is essential for activation of NF-κB via the B cell receptor.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-133
Author(s):  
Elodie Martin ◽  
Marie-Stéphane Aigrot ◽  
Roland Grenningloh ◽  
Bruno Stankoff ◽  
Catherine Lubetzki ◽  
...  

Background: Microglia are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS). In multiple sclerosis (MS) and related experimental models, microglia have either a pro-inflammatory or a pro-regenerative/pro-remyelinating function. Inhibition of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK), a member of the Tec family of kinases, has been shown to block differentiation of pro-inflammatory macrophages in response to granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor in vitro. However, the role of BTK in the CNS is unknown. Methods: Our aim was to investigate the effect of BTK inhibition on myelin repair in ex vivo and in vivo experimental models of demyelination and remyelination. The remyelination effect of a BTK inhibitor (BTKi; BTKi-1) was then investigated in LPC-induced demyelinated cerebellar organotypic slice cultures and metronidazole-induced demyelinated Xenopus MBP-GFP-NTR transgenic tadpoles. Results: Cellular detection of BTK and its activated form BTK-phospho-Y223 (p-BTK) was determined by immunohistochemistry in organotypic cerebellar slice cultures, before and after lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC)-induced demyelination. A low BTK signal detected by immunolabeling under normal conditions in cerebellar slices was in sharp contrast to an 8.5-fold increase in the number of BTK-positive cells observed in LPC-demyelinated slice cultures. Under both conditions, approximately 75% of cells expressing BTK and p-BTK were microglia and 25% were astrocytes. Compared with spontaneous recovery, treatment of demyelinated slice cultures and MTZ-demyelinated transgenic tadpoles with BTKi resulted in at least a 1.7-fold improvement of remyelination. Conclusion: Our data demonstrate that BTK inhibition is a promising therapeutic strategy for myelin repair.


Blood ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 136 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eun Ji Gang ◽  
Hye Na Kim ◽  
Yao-Te Hsieh ◽  
Yongsheng Ruan ◽  
Heather A. Ogana ◽  
...  

Abstract Resistance to multimodal chemotherapy continues to limit the prognosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This occurs in part through a process called adhesion-mediated drug resistance, which depends on ALL cell adhesion to the stroma through adhesion molecules, including integrins. Integrin α6 has been implicated in minimal residual disease in ALL and in the migration of ALL cells to the central nervous system. However, it has not been evaluated in the context of chemotherapeutic resistance. Here, we show that the anti-human α6-blocking Ab P5G10 induces apoptosis in primary ALL cells in vitro and sensitizes primary ALL cells to chemotherapy or tyrosine kinase inhibition in vitro and in vivo. We further analyzed the underlying mechanism of α6-associated apoptosis using a conditional knockout model of α6 in murine BCR-ABL1+ B-cell ALL cells and showed that α6-deficient ALL cells underwent apoptosis. In vivo deletion of α6 in combination with tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment was more effective in eradicating ALL than treatment with a TKI (nilotinib) alone. Proteomic analysis revealed that α6 deletion in murine ALL was associated with changes in Src signaling, including the upregulation of phosphorylated Lyn (pTyr507) and Fyn (pTyr530). Thus, our data support α6 as a novel therapeutic target for ALL.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Steinmaurer ◽  
Isabella Wimmer ◽  
Thomas Berger ◽  
Paulus Stefan Rommer ◽  
Johann Sellner

: Significant progress has been made in understanding the immunopathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) over recent years. Successful clinical trials with CD20-depleting monoclonal antibodies have corroborated the fundamental role of B cells in the pathogenesis of MS and reinforced the notion that cells of the B cell lineage are an attractive treatment target. Therapeutic inhibition of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), an enzyme involved in B cell and myeloid cell activation and function, is regarded as a next-generation approach that aims to attenuate both errant innate and adaptive immune functions. Moreover, brain-penetrant BTK inhibitors may impact compartmentalized inflammation and neurodegeneration within the central nervous system by targeting brain-resident B cells and microglia, respectively. Preclinical studies in animal models of MS corroborated an impact of BTK inhibition on meningeal inflammation and cortical demyelination. Notably, BTK inhibition attenuated the antigen-presenting capacity of B cells and the generation of encephalitogenic T cells. Evobrutinib, a selective oral BTK inhibitor, has been tested recently in a phase 2 study of patients with relapsing-remitting MS. The study met the primary endpoint of a significantly reduced cumulative number of Gadolinium-enhancing lesions under treatment with evobrutinib compared to placebo treatment. Thus, the results of ongoing phase 2 and 3 studies with evobrutinib, fenobrutinib, and tolebrutinib in relapsing-remitting and progressive MS are eagerly awaited. This review article introduces the physiological role of BTK, summarizes the pre-clinical and trial evidence, and addresses the potential beneficial effects of BTK inhibition in MS.


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