IκBε deficiency accelerates disease development in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Leukemia |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41375-024-02236-4 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41375-024-02236-4 |
| Keywords | chronic lymphocytic leukemia; I?B? deficiency |
| Description | The NFKBIE gene, which encodes the NF-kappa B inhibitor I kappa B epsilon, is mutated in 3-7% of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The most recurrent alteration is a 4-bp frameshift deletion associated with NF-kappa B activation in leukemic B cells and poor clinical outcome. To study the functional consequences of NFKBIE gene inactivation, both in vitro and in vivo, we engineered CLL B cells and CLL-prone mice to stably down-regulate NFKBIE expression and investigated its role in controlling NF-kappa B activity and disease expansion. We found that I kappa B epsilon loss leads to NF-kappa B pathway activation and promotes both migration and proliferation of CLL cells in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, NFKBIE inactivation was sufficient to induce a more rapid expansion of the CLL clone in lymphoid organs and contributed to the development of an aggressive disease with a shortened survival in both xenografts and genetically modified mice. I kappa B epsilon deficiency was associated with an alteration of the MAPK pathway, also confirmed by RNA-sequencing in NFKBIE-mutated patient samples, and resistance to the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib. In summary, our work underscores the multimodal relevance of the NF-kappa B pathway in CLL and paves the way to translate these findings into novel therapeutic options. |
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