Project description:High expression of the FOXP1 transcription factor distinguishes the highly aggressive Activated B Cell (ABC) type of Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) from the more indolent Germinal Center (GCB) DLBCL subtype and is correlated with poor prognosis. A genetic or functional role for FOXP1 in lymphomagenesis and/or tumor maintenance, however, remains unknown. Here, we report that sustained expression of FOXP1 is necessary for ABC DLBCL cell line survival. Genome-wide transcript profiling reveals that FOXP1 acts directly and indirectly by enforcing expression of known ABC DLBCL hallmarks, including the classical NF-kappaB survival pathway. Our data further suggest that FOXP1 maintains the ABC subtype distinction by repressing gene expression programs dominant in GCB DLBCL and supports a model in which the target of ABC DLBCL transformation is a transitory cell type en route from the germinal center B cell to the terminally differentiated plasma cell.
Project description:ChIP-Sequencing of 4 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cell lines expressing different amounts of FOXP1 was performed in order to identify target genes bound by the transcription factor FOXP1.
Project description:Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) represents the most common form of lymphoma. We could show that in DLBCL cell lines the transcription factor NFAT is constitutively activated and drives the survival of a DLBCL subset. Aim of the analysis was to identify NFAT target genes in a NFAT-dependent (HBL-1) or -independent (HT) DLBCL cell line. To block NFAT activity, the DLBCL cells were treated with the calcineurin inhibitor cyclosporin A (CsA) up to 48 h. With this approach, we identified several survival-related NFAT target genes in HBL-1 cells that might explain the toxic effects of calcineurin inhibitors.