Role of CXCR4 in immunoglobulin light chain recombination

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PROJECT SUMMARY In B lymphopoiesis there are alternating and mutually exclusive state of stochastic immunoglobulin gene recombination and cell proliferation with selection. Following successful rearrangement of the Ig heavy chain gene, Igµ pairs with surrogate light chain (SLC) to form the pre-BCR, expression of which is associated with clonal large pre-B cell expansion. However, at the subsequent developmental stage, small pre-B cells must fully exit cell cycle before initiating Ig light chain (IgL) gene recombination. Failure to do so risks genomic instability and leukemic transformation. Work from our lab and others has demonstrated that the IL-7R drives proliferation while the pre-BCR primarily appears tasked with IgL recombination. However, there is an apparent paradox in that IgL rearrangement occurs in small pre-B cells in which there is concurrent strong repression of SLC. There are two possibilities. The pre-BCR could initiate a complex developmental program in large pre-B cells that is executed in small pre-B cells. Alternatively, there could be other receptors or mechanisms that orchestrate IgL chain recombination. We now demonstrate that CXCR4, which is upregulated in small pre-B cells, directly transmits signals that open Igk to recombination. Indeed, it is CXCR4-mediated ERK activation, and not escape from IL-7, nor expression of the pre-BCR, that mediates late B lymphopoiesis. These and other data suggest a new model of B lymphopoiesis in which sequential signaling through three receptors, the IL-7R, pre-BCR and CXCR4, orchestrate critical cell fate decisions. We propose to test this mode in the following Specific Aims: Aim 1. Identify the signaling pathways specifically downstream of the pre-BCR. Aim 2: Determine how CXCR4 signals integrate with pre-BCR/IL-7Resc to drive Igk recombination. Aim 3. Determine how CXCR4 regulates receptor editing.