Lymphoma therapy could deliver a double punch

Public release date: 30-Apr-2012
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Contact: Sarah Jackson
press_releases@the-jci.org
Journal of Clinical Investigation

B cell lymphomas are a group of cancers of that originate in lymphoid tissue from B cells, the specialized immune cell type that produces antibodies. The development of B cell lymphoma is associated with several known genetic changes, including increased expression of MYC, a transcription factor that promotes cell growth and division.

In this issue of the JCI, Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia report on their studies to better understand the molecular pathways that interact with MYC and contribute to B cell lymphoma development. Using a mouse model of lymphoma, they found that a transcription factor in B cells known as PAX5 controls the level of MYC in cells. They showed that PAX5 stabilizes MYC protein levels through a previously undescribed pathway involving CD19, a surface protein expressed on B cells. When the research team looked in patient samples, they found that high levels of CD19 correlated with high MYC activity, and that both predicted poor patient survival time.

Their findings uncover a CD19-dependent pathway that contributes to the cancerous growth of B cell lymphomas. Their work has direct implications for therapies targeting CD19 that are currently in clinical trials, and suggest that these therapies may reduce cancer-promoting signaling in addition to depleting total B cell numbers.

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TITLE:

CD19 is a major B cell receptorindependent activator of MYC-driven B-lymphomagenesis

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko

University of Pennsylvania & Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone: 267-426-9699; Fax: 267-426-8125; E-mail: andreit@mail.med.upenn.edu

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Public release date: 30-Apr-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Sarah Jackson
press_releases@the-jci.org
Journal of Clinical Investigation

B cell lymphomas are a group of cancers of that originate in lymphoid tissue from B cells, the specialized immune cell type that produces antibodies. The development of B cell lymphoma is associated with several known genetic changes, including increased expression of MYC, a transcription factor that promotes cell growth and division.

In this issue of the JCI, Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia report on their studies to better understand the molecular pathways that interact with MYC and contribute to B cell lymphoma development. Using a mouse model of lymphoma, they found that a transcription factor in B cells known as PAX5 controls the level of MYC in cells. They showed that PAX5 stabilizes MYC protein levels through a previously undescribed pathway involving CD19, a surface protein expressed on B cells. When the research team looked in patient samples, they found that high levels of CD19 correlated with high MYC activity, and that both predicted poor patient survival time.

Their findings uncover a CD19-dependent pathway that contributes to the cancerous growth of B cell lymphomas. Their work has direct implications for therapies targeting CD19 that are currently in clinical trials, and suggest that these therapies may reduce cancer-promoting signaling in addition to depleting total B cell numbers.

###

TITLE:

CD19 is a major B cell receptorindependent activator of MYC-driven B-lymphomagenesis

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko

University of Pennsylvania & Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone: 267-426-9699; Fax: 267-426-8125; E-mail: andreit@mail.med.upenn.edu

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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