B Cell Activating Factor Induces Drug Resistance in Hairy Cell Leukemia Variant
<b>Background:</b> Chemoresistance is an existing challenge faced in the treatment of the hairy cell leukemia variant (HCL-v). Classical hairy cell leukemia (HCL-c) is very sensitive to the standard of care with purine nucleoside analogs (PNAs) cladribine (cDa) and pentostatin. However,...
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2025-04-01
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| author | Claire Fritz Daniel Feinberg Akshaya Radhakrishnan Kayla Klatt E. Ricky Chan Philip Rock Richard Burack Reshmi Parameswaran |
| author_facet | Claire Fritz Daniel Feinberg Akshaya Radhakrishnan Kayla Klatt E. Ricky Chan Philip Rock Richard Burack Reshmi Parameswaran |
| author_sort | Claire Fritz |
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| description | <b>Background:</b> Chemoresistance is an existing challenge faced in the treatment of the hairy cell leukemia variant (HCL-v). Classical hairy cell leukemia (HCL-c) is very sensitive to the standard of care with purine nucleoside analogs (PNAs) cladribine (cDa) and pentostatin. However, almost half of these patients eventually become less sensitive to chemotherapy and relapse. HCL-variant (HCL-v) is a biologically distinct entity from HCL-c that is not sensitive to frontline PNA therapy, and this treatment is not recommended for these patients. To address these treatment challenges, we investigated the role of B-cell activating factor (BAFF) in promoting HCL-v cell chemoresistance. <b>Methods:</b> Flow cytometry and quantitative PCR were used to measure the levels of BAFF and its receptors. To determine BAFF activated pathways in HCL-c and HCL-v, the Bonna-12 HCL-c cell line or HCL-v patient-derived cancer cells were stimulated with recombinat BAFF and activation of common BAFF-activated pathways, including the nonclassical nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway, the Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase (Erk) and phosphatidylinositol-3 (PI-3) kinase (PI3K)/AKT serine/threonine kinase (AKT) pathways were measured by western blotting. To test whether BAFF signaling promotes chemoresistance in HCL-v, we stimulated patient-derived HCL-v cells with BAFF and performed RNA sequencing. Lastly, to confirm the functional implications of BAFF signaling in HCL-v, we treated patient-derived HCL-v cells with exogenous BAFF before treatment with cladribine. <b>Results:</b> We found that HCL-v patient-derived cancer cells express receptors of BAFF at varying degrees and express relatively lower levels of membrane-bound BAFF ligand expression. BAFF stimulation of these cells resulted in substantial activation of the nonclassical NF-κB pathway, which is known to promote anti-apoptotic and pro-survival effects in B-cell cancers. Conversely, in the Bonna-12 cell line, we observed constitutive activation of the nonclassical NF-κB pathway. Through RNA sequencing, we found that BAFF upregulates a myriad of genes that are known to promote chemoresistance in various cancers, including <i>IL1</i>, <i>CXCL1/2</i>, <i>CXCL5</i>, <i>CXCL8</i>, <i>TRAF3</i>, and <i>PTGS2.</i> Lastly, we found that BAFF protects these cells from cladribine-induced cell death in vitro. <b>Conclusions:</b> We conclude that BAFF provides chemo-protection in HCL-v cells by activating nonclassical NF-κB signaling, which results in the upregulation of multiple pro-survival or anti-apoptotic genes. Our results highlight an important role of BAFF in HCL-v resistance to chemotherapy and suggest that the BAFF blockade may enhance the chemosensitivity to PNAs in drug-resistant HCL-v patients. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-13d9b4bdb22f4c44973fe4824fa6653a2025-08-20T02:17:20ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592025-04-0113489010.3390/biomedicines13040890B Cell Activating Factor Induces Drug Resistance in Hairy Cell Leukemia VariantClaire Fritz0Daniel Feinberg1Akshaya Radhakrishnan2Kayla Klatt3E. Ricky Chan4Philip Rock5Richard Burack6Reshmi Parameswaran7Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USADepartment of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USADivision of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USADepartment of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USADepartment of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USADepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USADepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USADepartment of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA<b>Background:</b> Chemoresistance is an existing challenge faced in the treatment of the hairy cell leukemia variant (HCL-v). Classical hairy cell leukemia (HCL-c) is very sensitive to the standard of care with purine nucleoside analogs (PNAs) cladribine (cDa) and pentostatin. However, almost half of these patients eventually become less sensitive to chemotherapy and relapse. HCL-variant (HCL-v) is a biologically distinct entity from HCL-c that is not sensitive to frontline PNA therapy, and this treatment is not recommended for these patients. To address these treatment challenges, we investigated the role of B-cell activating factor (BAFF) in promoting HCL-v cell chemoresistance. <b>Methods:</b> Flow cytometry and quantitative PCR were used to measure the levels of BAFF and its receptors. To determine BAFF activated pathways in HCL-c and HCL-v, the Bonna-12 HCL-c cell line or HCL-v patient-derived cancer cells were stimulated with recombinat BAFF and activation of common BAFF-activated pathways, including the nonclassical nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway, the Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase (Erk) and phosphatidylinositol-3 (PI-3) kinase (PI3K)/AKT serine/threonine kinase (AKT) pathways were measured by western blotting. To test whether BAFF signaling promotes chemoresistance in HCL-v, we stimulated patient-derived HCL-v cells with BAFF and performed RNA sequencing. Lastly, to confirm the functional implications of BAFF signaling in HCL-v, we treated patient-derived HCL-v cells with exogenous BAFF before treatment with cladribine. <b>Results:</b> We found that HCL-v patient-derived cancer cells express receptors of BAFF at varying degrees and express relatively lower levels of membrane-bound BAFF ligand expression. BAFF stimulation of these cells resulted in substantial activation of the nonclassical NF-κB pathway, which is known to promote anti-apoptotic and pro-survival effects in B-cell cancers. Conversely, in the Bonna-12 cell line, we observed constitutive activation of the nonclassical NF-κB pathway. Through RNA sequencing, we found that BAFF upregulates a myriad of genes that are known to promote chemoresistance in various cancers, including <i>IL1</i>, <i>CXCL1/2</i>, <i>CXCL5</i>, <i>CXCL8</i>, <i>TRAF3</i>, and <i>PTGS2.</i> Lastly, we found that BAFF protects these cells from cladribine-induced cell death in vitro. <b>Conclusions:</b> We conclude that BAFF provides chemo-protection in HCL-v cells by activating nonclassical NF-κB signaling, which results in the upregulation of multiple pro-survival or anti-apoptotic genes. Our results highlight an important role of BAFF in HCL-v resistance to chemotherapy and suggest that the BAFF blockade may enhance the chemosensitivity to PNAs in drug-resistant HCL-v patients.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/4/890hairy cell leukemiachemoresistanceBAFFHCLLeukemiachemo-protection |
| spellingShingle | Claire Fritz Daniel Feinberg Akshaya Radhakrishnan Kayla Klatt E. Ricky Chan Philip Rock Richard Burack Reshmi Parameswaran B Cell Activating Factor Induces Drug Resistance in Hairy Cell Leukemia Variant Biomedicines hairy cell leukemia chemoresistance BAFF HCL Leukemia chemo-protection |
| title | B Cell Activating Factor Induces Drug Resistance in Hairy Cell Leukemia Variant |
| title_full | B Cell Activating Factor Induces Drug Resistance in Hairy Cell Leukemia Variant |
| title_fullStr | B Cell Activating Factor Induces Drug Resistance in Hairy Cell Leukemia Variant |
| title_full_unstemmed | B Cell Activating Factor Induces Drug Resistance in Hairy Cell Leukemia Variant |
| title_short | B Cell Activating Factor Induces Drug Resistance in Hairy Cell Leukemia Variant |
| title_sort | b cell activating factor induces drug resistance in hairy cell leukemia variant |
| topic | hairy cell leukemia chemoresistance BAFF HCL Leukemia chemo-protection |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/4/890 |
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