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Deregulation of c-Myc Confers distinct survival requirements for memory B cells, plasma cells, and their progenitors
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Deregulation of c-Myc Confers distinct survival requirements for memory B cells, plasma cells, and their progenitors

Sefat E Khuda, William M Loo, Siegfried Janz, Brian Van Ness and Loren D Erickson
The Journal of immunology (1950), Vol.181(11), pp.7537-7549
12/01/2008
DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.181.11.7537
PMCID: PMC2841033
PMID: 19017943

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Abstract

Deregulation of the c-Myc oncogene is tightly associated with human and murine plasma cell (PC) neoplasms. Through the analysis of Ag-specific B cell responses in mice where Myc is targeted to the Igh Calpha locus, we show here that c-Myc dramatically impairs the primary and secondary Ab response. This impairment is differentiation stage specific, since germinal center B cell formation, affinity maturation, and class switch recombination were intact. Examination of PC viability revealed that c-Myc triggered apoptosis only upon final maturation when Ab is secreted and is resistant to the survival factor BAFF (B cell-activating factor belonging to the TNF family). In contrast, PC precursors (PC(pre)) that ultimately give rise to mature PCs survived normally and vigorously expanded with BAFF signaling. We further show that c-Myc also facilitates the apoptosis of memory B cells. Thus, Calpha-Myc controls both cellular arms of long-lived B cell immunity than previously anticipated. Only when deregulation of c-Myc was combined with enforced Bcl-x(L) expression were mature PCs able to survive in response to BAFF. These data indicate that the survival requirements for tumor-susceptible PC(pre) and PCs are distinct and that tumor progression likely develops as PC(pre) transition to functional PCs when apoptotic pathways such as members of the Bcl-2 family are disabled.
Gene Targeting - methods Somatic Hypermutation, Immunoglobulin - immunology Quantitative Trait Loci - immunology Germinal Center - immunology Humans bcl-X Protein - genetics Cell Survival - genetics Neoplastic Stem Cells - immunology Plasmacytoma - genetics Apoptosis - genetics Plasmacytoma - immunology Precursor Cells, B-Lymphoid - immunology bcl-X Protein - immunology Neoplastic Stem Cells - pathology B-Cell Activating Factor - immunology Immunologic Memory - genetics Antibody Formation - immunology Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc - immunology Mice, Transgenic Cell Survival - immunology Animals Apoptosis - immunology B-Cell Activating Factor - genetics Mice Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc - genetics Somatic Hypermutation, Immunoglobulin - genetics Antibody Formation - genetics Plasma Cells - immunology Quantitative Trait Loci - genetics

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