Highly restricted usage of Ig H chain VH14 family gene segments in Slp65-deficient pre-B cell leukemia in mice.

Mice deficient for the adapter protein Slp65 (also known as Blnk), a key component in precursor-BCR (pre-BCR) signaling, spontaneously develop pre-B cell leukemia. In these leukemias, proliferation is thought to be driven by constitutive Jak3/Stat5 signaling, mostly due to autocrine production of IL-7, together with high surface expression of the pre-BCR. In this study, we investigated whether particular IgH specificities would predispose Slp65-deficient pre-B cells to malignant transformation. Whereas V(H)-D-J(H) junctions were diverse, we found highly restricted Ig V(H) gene usage: 55 out of 60 (~92%) leukemias used a V(H)14/SM7-family gene, mainly V(H)14-1 and V(H)14-2. When combined with surrogate or conventional L chains, these V(H)14 IgH chains did not provide increased proliferative signals or exhibit enhanced poly- or autoreactivity. We therefore conclude that pre-BCR specificity per se did not contribute to oncogenic transformation. Remarkably, in a high proportion of Slp65-deficient leukemias, the nonexpressed IgH allele also harbored a V(H)14-family rearrangement (10 out of 50) or was in the germline configuration (10 out of 50). V(H)14-1 and V(H)14-2 gene regions differed from their neighboring V(H) genes in that they showed active H3K4me3 histone modification marks and germline transcription at the pro-B cell stage in Rag1-deficient mice. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that in Slp65-deficient mice, malignant transformation is largely limited to particular pre-B cells that originate from pro-B cells that had restricted IgH V(H) region accessibility at the time of V(H)-to D-J(H) recombination.

Malignant transformation of Slp65-deficient pre-B cells involves disruption of the Arf-Mdm2-p53 tumor suppressor pathway.

The adapter protein Slp65 is a key component of the precursor-B (pre-B) cell receptor. Slp65-deficient mice spontaneously develop pre-B cell leukemia, but the mechanism by which Slp65(-/-) pre-B cells become malignant is unknown. Loss of Btk, a Tec-family kinase that cooperates with Slp65 as a tumor suppressor, synergizes with deregulation of the c-Myc oncogene during lymphoma formation. Here, we report that the presence of the immunoglobulin heavy chain transgene V(H)81X prevented tumor development in Btk(-/-)Slp65(-/-) mice. This finding paralleled the reported effect of a human immunoglobulin heavy chain transgene on lymphoma development in Emu-myc mice, expressing transgenic c-Myc. Because activation of c-Myc strongly selects for spontaneous inactivation of the p19(Arf)-Mdm2-p53 tumor suppressor pathway, we investigated whether disruption of this pathway is a common alteration in Slp65(-/-) pre-B cell tumors. We found that combined loss of Slp65 and p53 in mice transformed pre-B cells very efficiently. Aberrations in p19(Arf), Mdm2, or p53 expression were found in all Slp65(-/-) (n = 17) and Btk(-/-)Slp65(-/-) (n = 32) pre-B cell leukemias analyzed. In addition, 9 of 10 p53(-/-)Slp65(-/-) pre-B cell leukemias manifested significant Mdm2 protein expression. These data indicate that malignant transformation of Slp65(-/-) pre-B cells involves disruption of the p19(Arf)-Mdm2-p53 tumor suppressor pathway.

A mouse model for chronic lymphocytic leukemia based on expression of the SV40 large T antigen.

The simian virus 40 (SV40) T antigen is a potent oncogene able to transform many cell types and has been implicated in leukemia and lymphoma. In this report, we have achieved sporadic SV40 T-antigen expression in mature B cells in mice, by insertion of a SV40 T antigen gene in opposite transcriptional orientation in the immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy (H) chain locus between the D and J(H) segments. SV40 T-antigen expression appeared to result from retention of the targeted germline allele and concomitant antisense transcription of SV40 large T in mature B cells, leading to chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Although B-cell development was unperturbed in young mice, aging mice showed accumulation of a monoclonal B-cell population in which the targeted IgH allele was in germline configuration and the wild-type IgH allele had a productive V(D)J recombination. These leukemic B cells were IgD(low)CD5(+) and manifested nonrandom usage of V, D, and J segments. V(H) regions were either unmutated, with preferential usage of the VH11 family, or manifested extensive somatic hypermutation. Our findings provide an animal model for B-CLL and show that pathways activated by SV40 T antigen play important roles in the pathogenesis of B-CLL.

Bruton's tyrosine kinase and SLP-65 regulate pre-B cell differentiation and the induction of Ig light chain gene rearrangement.

Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) and the adapter protein SLP-65 (Src homology 2 domain-containing leukocyte-specific phosphoprotein of 65 kDa) transmit precursor BCR (pre-BCR) signals that are essential for efficient developmental progression of large cycling into small resting pre-B cells. We show that Btk- and SLP-65-deficient pre-B cells have a specific defect in Ig lambda L chain germline transcription. In Btk/SLP-65 double-deficient pre-B cells, both kappa and lambda germline transcripts are severely reduced. Although these observations point to an important role for Btk and SLP-65 in the initiation of L chain gene rearrangement, the possibility remained that these signaling molecules are only required for termination of pre-B cell proliferation or for pre-B cell survival, whereby differentiation and L chain rearrangement is subsequently initiated in a Btk/SLP-65-independent fashion. Because transgenic expression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 did not rescue the developmental arrest of Btk/SLP-65 double-deficient pre-B cells, we conclude that defective L chain opening in Btk/SLP-65-deficient small resting pre-B cells is not due to their reduced survival. Next, we analyzed transgenic mice expressing the constitutively active Btk mutant E41K. The expression of E41K-Btk in Ig H chain-negative pro-B cells induced 1) surface marker changes that signify cellular differentiation, including down-regulation of surrogate L chain and up-regulation of CD2, CD25, and MHC class II; and 2) premature rearrangement and expression of kappa and lambda light chains. These findings demonstrate that Btk and SLP-65 transmit signals that induce cellular maturation and Ig L chain rearrangement independently of their role in termination of pre-B cell expansion.