The BLyS Survival Pathway in NHL-B Cells: Constitutive NF-kB and NFAT Lead to Activation.

B-cell non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas (NHL-B), neoplasms of the immune system have shown a significant increase in incidence in the USA over the last three decades. While the pathophysiology of the NHL-B is still unclear, the need to identify the relevant genes and critical signaling pathways, and their involvement in the disease processes in NHL-B have begun to be elucidated. Recently, B Lymphocyte Stimulator (BLyS) has been described as a relatively new member of the TNF ligand family, as a potent cell survival factor that is expressed in many hematopoietic cells, including neoplastic B cells. BLyS can bind to three receptors: TACI, BCMA, BAFF-R, and plays a critical role in B cell maturation, differentiation and proliferation. Relatively high levels of BLyS has been found in the serum of NHL-B patients as well as of the patients with autoimmune disease. The mechanisms of BLyS gene expression and regulation is still unclear, but we have recently found that BLyS is constitutively expressed in several NHL-B cell lines and patient tumor samples by RT-PCR, confocal microscopy, realtime PCR and flow cytometry (FCM). We detected high levels and differential expression of BLyS receptors (TACI, BCMA, BAFF-R) in several NHL-B cell lines by flow cytometry, RT-PCR and realtime PCR in both NHL-B cell lines and patient tumor samples. We have identified a single binding site for NF-kB and two binding sites for NFAT in the BLyS promoter. We also show in aggressive lymphoma B cells that constitutive NF-kB and NFAT binds to the BLyS promoter constitutively. Inhibiting NF-kB/NFAT activity levels, using the NF-kB inhibitors, BAY-11 or Velcade (PS-341), can decrease NF-kB binding activity in the BLyS promotor by EMSA. These inhibitors also decrease BLyS and BAFF-R mRNA and protein levels by realtime PCR and flow cytometry. Similarly, when NHL-B cells were transfected with dominant negative NFAT or NF-kB constructs, there is a 50% decrease in BLyS and BAFF-R expressions, demonstrating that both the ligand (BLyS) and the receptor (BAFF-R) expression are regulated by NFAT and NF-kB. Interestingly, follicular (low grade) lymphoma cells do not express constitutive NF-kB/NFAT activation, and barely detectable mRNA and protein levels of BlyS, but can be activated with exogenous CD154/anti IgM in vitro, activating NF-kB/NFAT and promoting binding to the BLyS promoter by EMSA. This results in a significant increase of BLyS protein level by flow cytometry. Our studies indicate that constitutive NF-kB and NFAT are critical transcriptional regulators of the BLyS survival pathway in malignant B cells that may provide a future therapeutic target in the aggressive NHL-B.