scholarly journals Multiple signaling pathways promote B lymphocyte stimulator–dependent B-cell growth and survival

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 750-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert T. Woodland ◽  
Casey J. Fox ◽  
Madelyn R. Schmidt ◽  
Peter S. Hammerman ◽  
Joseph T. Opferman ◽  
...  

We investigated the mechanism by which B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS)/BAFF, a tumor necrosis factor superfamily ligand, promotes B-cell survival and resistance to atrophy. BLyS stimulation activates 2 independent signaling pathways, Akt/mTOR and Pim 2, associated with cell growth and survival. BLyS blocks the cell volume loss (atrophy) that freshly isolated B cells normally undergo when maintained in vitro while concurrently increasing glycolytic activity and overall metabolism. This atrophy resistance requires Akt/mTOR. We used a genetic approach to resolve the contributions of Akt/mTOR and Pim kinase pathways to BLyS-mediated survival. Pim 2–deficient B cells are readily protected from death by BLyS stimulation, but this protection is completely abrogated by treatment with the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. Furthermore, rapamycin treatment in vivo significantly reduces both follicular and marginal zone B cells in Pim-deficient but not healthy hosts. BLyS-dependent survival requires the antiapoptotic protein Mcl-1. Mcl-1 protein levels rise and fall in response to BLyS addition and withdrawal, respectively, and conditional deletion of the Mcl-1 gene renders B cells refractory to BLyS-mediated protection. Because BlyS is required for the normal homeostasis of all B cells, these data suggest a therapeutic strategy simultaneously inhibiting mTOR and Pim 2 could target pathogenic B cells.

2000 ◽  
Vol 192 (7) ◽  
pp. 953-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard K.G. Do ◽  
Eunice Hatada ◽  
Hayyoung Lee ◽  
Michelle R. Tourigny ◽  
David Hilbert ◽  
...  

B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) is a newly identified monocyte-specific TNF family cytokine. It has been implicated in the development of autoimmunity, and functions as a potent costimulator with antiimmunoglobulin M in B cell proliferation in vitro. Here we demonstrate that BLyS prominently enhances the humoral responses to both T cell–independent and T cell–dependent antigens, primarily by attenuation of apoptosis as evidenced by the prolonged survival of antigen-activated B cells in vivo and in vitro. BLyS acts on primary splenic B cells autonomously, and directly cooperates with CD40 ligand (CD40L) in B cell activation in vitro by protecting replicating B cells from apoptosis. Moreover, although BLyS alone cannot activate the cell cycle, it is sufficient to prolong the survival of naive resting B cells in vitro. Attenuation of apoptosis by BLyS correlates with changes in the ratios between Bcl-2 family proteins in favor of cell survival, predominantly by reducing the proapoptotic Bak and increasing its prosurvival partners, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. In either resting or CD40L-activated B cells, the NF-κB transcription factors RelB and p50 are specifically activated, suggesting that they may mediate BLyS signals for B cell survival. Together, these results provide direct evidence for BLyS enhancement of both T cell–independent and T cell–dependent humoral immune responses, and imply a role for BLyS in the conservation of the B cell repertoire. The ability of BLyS to increase B cell survival indiscriminately, at either a resting or activated state, and to cooperate with CD40L, further suggests that attenuation of apoptosis underlies BLyS enhancement of polyclonal autoimmunity as well as the physiologic humoral immune response.


Blood ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 100 (8) ◽  
pp. 2973-2979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne J. Novak ◽  
Richard J. Bram ◽  
Neil E. Kay ◽  
Diane F. Jelinek

B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) is defined by the accumulation of CD5+ B cells in the periphery and bone marrow. This disease is not characterized by highly proliferative cells but rather by the presence of leukemic cells with significant resistance to apoptosis and, therefore, prolonged survival. B-lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) is a newly identified tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family member shown to be critical for maintenance of normal B-cell development and homeostasis and it shares significant homology with another TNF superfamily member, APRIL. The striking effects of BLyS on normal B-cell maintenance and survival raises the possibility that it may be involved in pathogenesis and maintenance of hematologic malignancies, including B-CLL. In this study, we investigated the status of APRIL and BLyS expression, as well as their receptors, in this disease. All B-CLL patient cells studied expressed one or more of 3 known receptors for BLyS; however, the pattern of expression was variable. In addition, we demonstrate for the first time that B-CLL cells from a subset of patients aberrantly express BLyS and APRIL mRNA, whereas these molecules were not detectable in normal B cells. Furthermore, we provide in vitro evidence that BLyS protects B-CLL cells from apoptosis and enhances cell survival. Because these molecules are key regulators of B-cell homeostasis and tumor progression, leukemic cell autocrine expression of BLyS and APRIL may be playing an important role in the pathogenesis of this disease.


Blood ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1335-1341 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Ford ◽  
NM Kouttab ◽  
CG Sahasrabuddhe ◽  
FM Davis ◽  
SR Mehta

Abstract The non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) are a heterogeneous group of human lymphoid tumors, primarily of B cell lineage, which appear to represent arrested stages in B lymphocyte differentiation. Control of cell proliferation is a fundamentally important but poorly understood area of study in these tumors. We have studied a representative group of B cell NHLs to assess their potential for growth factor-mediated proliferation in vitro. Our results show that purified monoclonal NHL B cells of the small cell (well-differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma, nodular poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma, etc) type, that were positive for the human malignancy-associated nucleolar antigen could be stimulated by human B cell growth factor (BCGF) to proliferate in vitro. Other B cell activators such as insoluble anti-Ig and the mitogen protein A also could stimulate thymidine incorporation in the lymphoma cell populations. In vitro lymphoma cell growth could be maintained in the presence of the growth factor for up to five weeks. The large B cell type NHL, however, appeared to be refractory to in vitro stimulation by BCGF as well as other stimulators of normal B cells. These studies suggest that human B cell lymphoid tumors are not only phenotypically similar to their normal B lymphocyte counterparts, but are also sensitive in some cases, to the same types of immunoregulatory molecules that control normal lymphoid cell growth.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 2376-2376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan V. Pham ◽  
Yen-Chiu Lin-Lee ◽  
Hai-Jun Zhou ◽  
Archito T. Tamayo ◽  
Linda C. Yoshimura ◽  
...  

Abstract The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family (TNF-R; CD40; BAFF-R) plays a key role in neoplastic as well as normal B cell growth and survival mechanisms. TNF receptor-associated factor-6 (TRAF-6) is an adapter molecule that regulates several important signaling pathways critical for cell growth and cell survival. It is a member of seven closely related TRAF proteins that serve as signaling molecules, coupling to TNF-receptor superfamily to intracellular signaling, particularly in the CD40 Signalosome. TRAF6 has shown to be over-expressed and play an important role in cell growth and cell survival through the activation of the key transcription factor NF-kB in aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma B cells (NHL-B), common B cell neoplasm that have been increasing in recent years. Although much of TRAF-6 functions have focused primarily as an adaptor molecule in signaling pathways in the cytoplasm, the role of TRAF-6 in other cellular compartments has not been investigated. Here, we demonstrate, by confocal microscopy as well as cellular fractionation studies that TRAF-6 resides not only in the cytoplasm but also in the nucleus of lymphoma B cells. Immunoprecipitation studies show that TRAF6 is auto-ubiquitinated in the cytoplasm but not in the nucleus, suggesting that nuclear TRAF6 functions differently than cytoplasmic TRAF6. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChiP) cloning assays using anti-TRAF6 polyclonal antibody reveal over 200 clones, one of which contains a 130 bp fragment belonging to the proximal 5′ end of the c-myb oncogene promoter. Further experiments demonstrate that nuclear TRAF6 co-localized with SUMO1 and c-myb, suggesting that TRAF-6 may enter the nucleus through SUMO1 interaction and serve as an E3 sumo ligase, in addition to its known adapter role in cytoplasmic signaling. Over-expression studies show that TRAF6 enhances c-myb sumoylation in lymphoma B cells, where this oncogene is over-expressed. C-myb correlates with TRAF6 protein and mRNA expressions in NHL-B cells, suggesting that TRAF6 may be involved in the modulation of c-myb expression through sumoylation, regulating key genes that are regulated by c-myb. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting c-myb results in inhibition of lymphoma cell survival, suggesting that SUMO1/TRAF6/c-myb interactions are important in cell survival pathways in aggressive NHL-B. Such pathways could represent novel targets for the development of therapeutic agents for aggressive B cell lymphomas.


2009 ◽  
Vol 417 (3) ◽  
pp. 673-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munetoyo Toda ◽  
Risa Hisano ◽  
Hajime Yurugi ◽  
Kaoru Akita ◽  
Kouji Maruyama ◽  
...  

CD22 [Siglec-2 (sialic acid-binding, immunoglobulin-like lectin-2)], a negative regulator of B-cell signalling, binds to α2,6- sialic acid-linked glycoconjugates, including a sialyl-Tn antigen that is one of the typical tumour-associated carbohydrate antigens expressed on various mucins. Many epithelial tumours secrete mucins into tissues and/or the bloodstream. Mouse mammary adenocarcinoma cells, TA3-Ha, produce a mucin named epiglycanin, but a subline of them, TA3-St, does not. Epiglycanin binds to CD22 and inhibits B-cell signalling in vitro. The in vivo effect of mucins in the tumour-bearing state was investigated using these cell lines. It should be noted that splenic MZ (marginal zone) B-cells were dramatically reduced in the mice bearing TA3-Ha cells but not in those bearing TA3-St cells, this being consistent with the finding that the thymus-independent response was reduced in these mice. When the mucins were administered to normal mice, a portion of them was detected in the splenic MZ associated with the MZ B-cells. Furthermore, administration of mucins to normal mice clearly reduced the splenic MZ B-cells, similar to tumour-bearing mice. These results indicate that mucins in the bloodstream interacted with CD22, which led to impairment of the splenic MZ B-cells in the tumour-bearing state.


Blood ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 824-829
Author(s):  
BS Wilson ◽  
JL Platt ◽  
NE Kay

Several mouse monoclonal IgG antibodies (AB1, AB2, AB3, and AB5) were developed that reacted with a 140,000 mol wt glycoprotein on the surface of cultured RAJI B lymphoid cells. The antibodies reacted with purified normal human peripheral blood B cells and CLL Ig+ B cells and showed specific germinal center and mantle zone staining in tissue sections of secondary lymphoid organs. Immunodepletion studies using 125I surface-labeled Raji cell membrane antigens demonstrated that the antigen identified by AB5 is the same 140,000 mol wt glycoprotein detected by anti-B2 that has recently been shown to react with the C3d fragment or CR2 receptor. (Iida et al: J Exp Med 158:1021, 1983). Addition of the AB series and anti-B2 monoclonal antibodies to cultures of purified human peripheral blood B cells resulted in the uptake of 3H- thymidine at two to six times background control levels provided that irradiated autologous T cells were added to the culture. Stimulation was not evoked by other monoclonal antibodies to B cell surface molecules (ie, B1, BA-1, BA-2, and HLA-DR). Pepsin-generated F(ab')2 fragments of anti-CR2 antibodies were essentially as effective as the intact IgG molecule in stimulating B cells. Induction of B cell proliferation by antibody binding to CR2 suggests that the C3d receptor may have an integral role in regulation of humoral immune response.


Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. 1566-1566
Author(s):  
Fabien Guilloton ◽  
Gersende Caron ◽  
Cédric Ménard ◽  
Céline Pangault ◽  
Patricia Amé-Thomas ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 1566 Accumulating evidence indicates that infiltrating stromal cells contribute directly and indirectly to tumor growth in a wide range of solid cancers and hematological malignancies. In follicular lymphoma (FL), malignant B cells are found admixed with heterogeneous lymphoid-like stromal cells within invaded lymph nodes and bone marrow (BM). In addition, in vitro functional studies have underlined that mesenchymal cells recruit malignant FL B cells and protect them from spontaneous and drug-induced apoptosis. In particular, we have previously demonstrated that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) efficiently support in vitro FL B-cell survival, especially after their engagement towards lymphoid differentiation through treatment with TNF-α and Lymphotoxin-α1β2 (TNF/LT) or after coculture with malignant B cells. However, the mechanisms of this supportive activity remain largely unknown. In this study, we used Affymetrix U133 Plus 2.0 microarrays, to compare the gene expression profile (GEP) of bone marrow-derived MSC (BM-MSC) obtained from 10 FL patients at diagnosis versus 6 age-matched healthy donors (HD). In these conditions, neither the CFU-F concentration in the BM nor the cumulative population doubling of BM-MSC significantly differed between HD and FL patients. Unsupervised analysis was able to perfectly segregate FL-MSC from HD-MSC and we identified, using supervised analyzes, a list of 408 probesets defining FL-MSC signature, including 320 nonredundant genes upregulated in FL-MSC compared to HD-MSC. We then defined the GEP of human lymphoid-like stroma using HD-MSC treated in vitro by TNF/LT and demonstrated, by a Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) approach, that the FL-MSC signature is significantly enriched for genes associated with a lymphoid-like commitment. Interestingly, CCL2 was strongly overexpressed by FL-MSC, was upregulated in HD-MSC by coculture with malignant B cells, and was detected at a higher level in FL BM plasma compared to normal BM plasma (504.4 pg/mL [23.8-4413] versus 33.9 pg/mL [5-126.1]; P <.01). In agreement, FL-MSC triggered a more potent CCL2-dependent monocyte migration than HD-MSC. Moreover, FL-MSC and macrophages cooperated to sustain malignant B-cell growth through both protection from apoptosis and enhancement of cell proliferation. Finally, FL-MSC promoted monocyte differentiation towards a proangiogenic LPS-unresponsive phenotype close to that of tumor-associated macrophages. We unraveled a key role for the Notch pathway in this process and identified an overexpression of JAGGED1 in FL-MSC compared to HD-MSC. Altogether, these results highlight the complex role of FL stromal cells that promote direct tumor B-cell growth and orchestrate FL cell niche. The identification and characterization of this intricate network of cell interactions may provide novel therapeutic targets in this disease. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 2315-2321
Author(s):  
M A Campbell ◽  
B M Sefton

Treatment of B lymphocytes with antibodies to membrane immunoglobulin (Ig) stimulates protein tyrosine phosphorylation. We have examined the phosphorylation in vitro of proteins associated with membrane Ig. The Src family protein tyrosine kinases p53/56lyn, p59fyn, and p56lck are associated with membrane Ig in spleen B cells and B-cell lines and undergo phosphorylation in vitro. The pattern of expression of Src family protein tyrosine kinases in B cells varied. Our studies suggest that multiple kinases can potentially interact with membrane Ig and that within any one B-cell type, all of the Src family kinases expressed can be found in association with membrane Ig. We also observed that the Ig-associated Ig alpha protein, multiple forms of Ig beta, and proteins of 100 and 25 kDa were tyrosine phosphorylated in vitro. The 100- and 25-kDa proteins remain unidentified.


1983 ◽  
Vol 157 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
P K Mongini ◽  
W E Paul ◽  
E S Metcalf

The IgM, IgG subclass, IgE, and IgA anti-trinitrophenyl (TNP) antibody (Ab) response of B cells to the type 2 antigen TNP-Ficoll was studied in athymic nude mice and in the in vitro splenic focus assay. Results from the splenic focus assay in which purified B lymphocyte preparations had been transferred to irradiated nu/nu recipients indicate that many TNP-Ficoll stimulated B cell clones secrete multiple isotypes and hence appear to be undergoing intraclonal isotype switching. Although the frequency of clones secreting each of the IgG subclasses was found to correlate with 5' to 3' Igh-gamma gene order, the frequency of IgE and IgA-secreting clones did not appear to be influenced by the respective position of Igh-epsilon and Igh-alpha on the chromosome. Unlike clones that secreted anti-TNP Ab of the IgG subclasses, IgE and IgA anti-TNP Ab-secreting clones did not have a high propensity for coexpression of isotypes encoded by 5' Igh-C genes. These data suggest that three distinct switching pathways may be employed by B cells responding to TNP-Ficoll: a common IgG pathway, an IgE pathway, and an IgA pathway. The presence of T cells resulted in a preferential enhancement of the production of anti-TNP Ab of those IgG subclasses which were least represented in the absence of T cells, i.e., IgG2b and IgG2a. No significant enhancement of IgE anti-TNP clonal frequency was found in the presence of T lymphocytes, but T cells were found to significantly enhance the clonal expression of IgA anti-TNP Ab. Although a relatively large number of B cell clones were found to synthesize IgE and IgA anti-TNP Ab in the splenic focus assay, relatively little or no secretion of these isotypes was detected in immune mice. Possible explanations for this apparent discrepancy are discussed.


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