Un regard alternatif sur le lymphome diffus à grandes cellules B : l’impact de l’engagement fréquent de la sous-unité RelB de NF-κB dans la survie cellulaire et pronostic des patients

NF-κB transcription factors play critical role in cell proliferation, cell survival and the physiopathology of numerous cancers. Deregulation of the classical NF-κB pathway is known to be involved in at least the ABC subset of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, the activation status of RelB NF-κB alternative pathway subunit and its role remain unclear. We have demonstrated a frequent engagement of RelB in human DLBCL-derived cell lines. RelB activation protected cells from DNA damage and apoptosis induced by doxorubicin, the main drug in DLBCL treatment. RelB also controlled the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein cIAP2. In a cohort of 66 de novo DLBCL patients, we have directly assessed the DNA binding activity of all NF-κB subunits by EMSA coupled with supershift. RelB activation was present in 66.6% of cases regardless of ABC or GCB classification and was an independent predictor of worse outcome. RelB activation status by EMSA allowed the definition of a RelB gene expression signature that was able to confirm RelB’s negative impact on patient outcome when extended to a larger cohort. Altogether, our study indicates that RelB is a potential new biomarker for DLBCL and sheds light on its important role in DLBCL cell biology.Les facteurs de transcription de NF-κB jouent un rôle crucial dans la prolifération et la survie cellulaire, et la physiopathologie de nombreux cancers. La dérégulation de la voie classique de NF-κB est connue pour être impliquée au moins dans le sous-groupe ABC du lymphome diffus à grandes cellules B (DLBCL). Cependant, l'état d'activation de la sous-unité RelB de la voie alternative de NF-κB et son rôle restent inconnus. Nous avons démontré un engagement fréquent de RelB dans des lignées cellulaires humaines dérivées de DLBCL. L'activation RelB protège les cellules des dommages à l'ADN et de l'apoptose induites par la doxorubicine, le principal médicament utilisé dans le traitement du DLBCL. RelB a également contrôlé l'expression de la protéine anti-apoptotique cIAP2. Dans une cohorte de 66 patients atteints de DLBCL de novo, nous avons évalué directement l'activité de liaison à l'ADN de toutes les sous-unités de NF-κB par EMSA couplé à des supershifts. L'activation de RelB était présente dans 66,6% des cas, quelle que soit la classification ABC ou GCB, et constituait un prédicteur indépendant d’un mauvais pronostique. Le statut d’activation de RelB établi par l’EMSA a permis de définir une signature d’expression génique liée à RelB capable de confirmer l’impact négatif de RelB sur l’évolution des patients, lorsque étendue à une cohorte plus grande. Finalement, notre étude indique que RelB est potentiellement un nouveau biomarqueur pour le DLBCL et met en évidence son rôle important dans la biologie cellulaire de DLBCL

Post-Translational Modifications of RelB NF-κB Subunit and Associated Functions

The family of NF-κB transcription factors plays a key role in diverse biological processes, such as inflammatory and immune responses, cell survival and tumor development. Beyond the classical NF-κB activation pathway, a second NF-κB pathway has more recently been uncovered, the so-called alternative NF-κB activation pathway. It has been shown that this pathway mainly controls the activity of RelB, a member of the NF-κB family. Post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation, ubiquitination and SUMOylation, have recently emerged as a strategy for the fine-tuned regulation of NF-κB. Our review discusses recent progress in the understanding of RelB regulation by post-translational modifications and the associated functions in normal and pathological conditions

Tumor necrosis factor receptor family costimulation increases regulatory T‐cell activation and function via NF‐κB

International audienceSeveral drugs targeting members of the TNF superfamily or TNF receptor superfamily (TNFRSF) are widely used in medicine or are currently being tested in therapeutic trials. However, their mechanism of action remains poorly understood. Here, we explored the effects of TNFRSF co-stimulation on murine Foxp3+ regulatory T cell (Treg) biology, as they are pivotal modulators of immune responses. We show that engagement of TNFR2, 4-1BB, GITR, and DR3, but not OX40, increases Treg proliferation and survival. Triggering these TNFRSF in Tregs induces similar changes in gene expression patterns, suggesting that they engage common signal transduction pathways. Among them, we identified a major role of canonical NF-κB. Importantly, TNFRSF co-stimulation improves the ability of Tregs to suppress colitis. Our data demonstrate that stimulation of discrete TNFRSF members enhances Treg activation and function through a shared mechanism. Consequently, therapeutic effects of drugs targeting TNFRSF or their ligands may be mediated by their effect on Tregs

Tumor necrosis factor receptor family costimulation increases regulatory T‐cell activation and function via NF‐κB

International audienceSeveral drugs targeting members of the TNF superfamily or TNF receptor superfamily (TNFRSF) are widely used in medicine or are currently being tested in therapeutic trials. However, their mechanism of action remains poorly understood. Here, we explored the effects of TNFRSF co-stimulation on murine Foxp3+ regulatory T cell (Treg) biology, as they are pivotal modulators of immune responses. We show that engagement of TNFR2, 4-1BB, GITR, and DR3, but not OX40, increases Treg proliferation and survival. Triggering these TNFRSF in Tregs induces similar changes in gene expression patterns, suggesting that they engage common signal transduction pathways. Among them, we identified a major role of canonical NF-κB. Importantly, TNFRSF co-stimulation improves the ability of Tregs to suppress colitis. Our data demonstrate that stimulation of discrete TNFRSF members enhances Treg activation and function through a shared mechanism. Consequently, therapeutic effects of drugs targeting TNFRSF or their ligands may be mediated by their effect on Tregs

The NF-κB RelA Transcription Factor Is Critical for Regulatory T Cell Activation and Stability

International audienceRegulatory T cells (Tregs) play a major role in immune homeostasis and in the prevention of autoimmune diseases. It has been shown that c-Rel is critical in Treg thymic differentiation, but little is known on the role of NF-κB on mature Treg biology. We thus generated mice with a specific knockout of RelA, a key member of NF-κB, in Tregs. These mice developed a severe autoimmune syndrome with multi-organ immune infiltration and high activation of lymphoid and myeloid cells. Phenotypic and transcriptomic analyses showed that RelA is critical in the acquisition of the effector Treg state independently of surrounding inflammatory environment. Unexpectedly, RelA-deficient Tregs also displayed reduced stability and cells that had lost Foxp3 produced inflammatory cytokines. Overall, we show that RelA is critical for Treg biology as it promotes both the generation of their effector phenotype and the maintenance of their identity

c-Rel Is the Pivotal NF-κB Subunit in Germinal Center Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: A LYSA Study

International audienceRelationships between c-Rel and GCB-DLBCLs remain unclear. We found that strong c-Rel DNA-binding activity was mostly found in GCBs on two independent series of 48 DLBCLs and 66 DLBCLs, the latter issued from the GHEDI series. c-Rel DNA-binding activity was associated with increased REL mRNA expression. Extending the study to the whole GHEDI and Lenz DLBCL published series of 202 and 233 cases, it was found that the c-Rel gene expression profile (GEP) overlapped partially (12%) but only with the GCB GEP and not with the GEP of ABC-DLBCLs. Cases with both overexpression of REL mRNA and c-Rel GEP were defined as those having a c-Rel signature. These cases were GCBs in 88 and 83% of the GHEDI or Lenz's DLBCL series respectively. The c-Rel signature was also associated with various recurrent GCB-DLBCL genetic events, including REL gains, BCL2 translocation, MEF2B, EZH2, CREBBP, and TNFRSF14 mutations and with the EZB GCB genetic subtype. By CGH array, the c-Rel signature was specifically correlated with 2p15-16.1 amplification that includes XPO1, BCL11A, and USP34 and with the 22q11.22 deletion that covers IGLL5 and PRAME. The total number of gene copy number aberrations, so-called genomic imbalance complexity, was decreased in cases with the c-Rel signature. These cases exhibited a better overall survival. Functionally, overexpression of c-Rel induced its constitutive nuclear localization and protected cells against apoptosis while its repression tended to increase cell death. These results show that, clinically and biologically, c-Rel is the pivotal NF-κB subunit in the GCB-DLBCL subgroup. Functionally, c-Rel overexpression could directly promote DLBCL tumorigenesis without need for further activation signals