Researchers have discovered genetic mutations that may contribute to the development of an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. These findings provide insight into a mechanism that cancer cells may use to survive, thus identifying potential new targets for treatment of the disease. The study conducted by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Human Genome Research Institute, components of the National Institutes of Health, and colleagues appeared Jan. 7, 2010, in Nature.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) originates in B cells, which are antibody-producing immune cells and one of the body's key defense mechanisms. DLBCL is the most common form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and represents about 30 percent of newly diagnosed cases. There are different subtypes of DLBCL that vary biologically and differ significantly in their rates of patient survival following chemotherapy. The activated B cell-like (ABC) subtype is the least responsive to currently available therapies.

When a normal B cell encounters a foreign substance, proteins on the cell surface known as B cell receptors (BCR) activate signaling pathways that tell the cell to survive and proliferate. A signaling pathway is a stepwise series of biochemical events that help regulate important cellular functions, such as proliferation and survival. Each pathway contains points at which normal signaling can become altered, causing cells to function abnormally. Alterations in signaling pathways have been found in many types of cancer cells. Previous research had suggested that BCR signaling might contribute to the development of lymphomas; however, direct genetic and functional evidence was lacking.

In the new study, researchers first used advanced laboratory techniques to identify critical points in the BCR signaling pathway that affect the survival of lymphoma cells. They found that interference with several individual components of this pathway caused lymphoma cells to die. Thus, ongoing BCR signaling -- which the authors refer to as chronic active signaling -- is necessary for ABC subtype DLBCL cell survival.

The team then looked for mutations in genes that encode these signaling pathway components in human DLBCL tumors. They found that about one-fifth of ABC subtype tumors had mutations in a BCR signaling component known as CD79B. The mutations increased BCR signaling by blocking a braking process that normally turns off the pathway in response to inhibitory signals.