Gene expression profile analysis of germinal center B cells from conditional Crebbp knockout mice and littermate controls

Inactivating mutations of the gene encoding for the CREBBP acetyltransferase are highly frequent in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL, 30% of cases) and follicular lymphoma (FL, 60% of cases), the two most common cancers derived from thegerminal-center (GC). However, the role of CREBBP inactivation in lymphomagenesisremains unclear. Using functional epigenomics and mouse genetics, here we definethe program modulated by CREBBP in primary human GC B cells and show thatCREBBP regulates enhancer/super-enhancer networks, with specific roles in GC/post-GC cell fate decisions. Conditional GC-specific deletion of Crebbp in the mouseperturbs the expression of a limited set of genes involved in the regulation of signaltransduction (BCR, TLR and CD40), lineage specification (NF-B and BCL6) andterminal B cell differentiation (PRDM1, IRF4). Consistently, Crebbp-deficient B cellsexhibit proliferative advantage and show impaired plasma cell differentiation. WhileGC-specific loss of Crebbp was not sufficient to initiate malignant transformation,compound Crebbp-haploinsufficient/BCL2-transgenic mice, mimicking the genetics ofFL and DLBCL, display an increased incidence of clonal lymphoid malignanciesrecapitulating the features of the human diseases. These findings establish CREBBPas a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor gene in GC B cells and provide insights intothe mechanisms and targes by which loss of CREBBP contributes to lymphomagenesis.

14

Zhang J, Vlasevska S, Wells VA, Nataraj S, Holmes AB, Duval R, Meyer SN, Mo T, Basso K, Brindle PK, Hussein S, Dalla-Favera R, Pasqualucci L