B-cell survival and development controlled by the coordination of NF-κB family members RelB and cRel.

Targeted deletion of BAFF causes severe deficiency of splenic B cells. BAFF-R is commonly thought to signal to nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB)-inducing kinase dependent noncanonical NF-κB RelB. However, RelB-deficient mice have normal B-cell numbers.

Limited specificity of IRF3 and ISGF3 in the transcriptional innate-immune response to double-stranded RNA.

The innate immune response is largely initiated by pathogen-responsive activation of the transcription factor IRF3. Among other target genes, IRF3 controls the expression of IFN-β, which triggers the activation of the transcription factor ISGF3 via the IFNAR. IRF3 and ISGF3 have been reported to control many of the same target genes and together, control the antimicrobial innate-immune program; however, their respective contributions and specificities remain unclear.

A multi-scale approach reveals that NF-κB cRel enforces a B-cell decision to divide.

Understanding the functions of multi-cellular organs in terms of the molecular networks within each cell is an important step in the quest to predict phenotype from genotype. B-lymphocyte population dynamics, which are predictive of immune response and vaccine effectiveness, are determined by individual cells undergoing division or death seemingly stochastically. Based on tracking single-cell time-lapse trajectories of hundreds of B cells, single-cell transcriptome, and immunofluorescence analyses, we constructed an agent-based multi-modular computational model to simulate lymphocyte population dynamics in terms of the molecular networks that control NF-κB signaling, the cell cycle, and apoptosis.

A pathway switch directs BAFF signaling to distinct NFκB transcription factors in maturing and proliferating B cells.

BAFF, an activator of the noncanonical NFκB pathway, provides critical survival signals during B cell maturation and contributes to B cell proliferation. We found that the NFκB family member RelB is required ex vivo for B cell maturation, but cRel is required for proliferation. Combined molecular network modeling and experimentation revealed Nfkb2 p100 as a pathway switch; at moderate p100 synthesis rates in maturing B cells, BAFF fully utilizes p100 to generate the RelB:p52 dimer, whereas at high synthesis rates, p100 assembles into multimeric IκBsome complexes, which BAFF neutralizes in order to potentiate cRel activity and B cell expansion.

Network dynamics determine the autocrine and paracrine signaling functions of TNF.

A hallmark of the inflammatory response to pathogen exposure is the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) that coordinates innate and adaptive immune responses by functioning in an autocrine or paracrine manner. Numerous molecular mechanisms contributing to TNF production have been identified, but how they function together in macrophages remains unclear. Here, we pursued an iterative systems biology approach to develop a quantitative understanding of the regulatory modules that control TNF mRNA synthesis and processing, mRNA half-life and translation, and protein processing and secretion.

IκBε is a key regulator of B cell expansion by providing negative feedback on cRel and RelA in a stimulus-specific manner.

The transcription factor NF-κB is a regulator of inflammatory and adaptive immune responses, yet only IκBα was shown to limit NF-κB activation and inflammatory responses. We investigated another negative feedback regulator, IκBε, in the regulation of B cell proliferation and survival. Loss of IκBε resulted in increased B cell proliferation and survival in response to both antigenic and innate stimulation.

Analysis of the RelA:CBP/p300 interaction reveals its involvement in NF-κB-driven transcription.

NF-κB plays a vital role in cellular immune and inflammatory response, survival, and proliferation by regulating the transcription of various genes involved in these processes. To activate transcription, RelA (a prominent NF-κB family member) interacts with transcriptional co-activators like CREB-binding protein (CBP) and its paralog p300 in addition to its cognate κB sites on the promoter/enhancer regions of DNA. The RelA:CBP/p300 complex is comprised of two components--first, DNA binding domain of RelA interacts with the KIX domain of CBP/p300, and second, the transcriptional activation domain (TAD) of RelA binds to the TAZ1 domain of CBP/p300.