Abnormal expression of A20 and its regulated genes in peripheral blood from patients with lymphomas.
BACKGROUND
Cell-mediated immunity is often suppressed in patients with hematological malignancies. Recently, we found that low T cell receptor (TCR)-CD3 signaling was related to abnormal expression of the negative regulator of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) A20 in acute myeloid leukemia. To investigate the characteristics of T cell immunodeficiency in lymphomas, we analyzed the expression features of A20 and its upstream regulating factor mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation gene 1 (MALT1) and genes downstream of NF-κB in patients with different lymphoma subtypes, including T cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (T-NHL), B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) and NK/T cell lymphoma (NK/T-CL).


METHODS
Real-time PCR was used to determine the expression level of the MALT1, MALT-V1 (variant 1), A20 and NF-κB genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 24 cases with T-NHL, 19 cases with B-NHL and 16 cases with NK/T-CL, and 31 healthy individuals (HI) served as control.


RESULTS
Significantly lower A20 and NF-κB expression was found in patients with all three lymphoma subtypes compared with the healthy controls. Moreover, the MALT1 expression level was downregulated in all three lymphoma subtypes. A significant positive correlation between the expression level of MALT1 and A20, MALT1-V1 and A20, MALT1-V1 and NF-κB, and A20 and NF-κB was found.


CONCLUSIONS
An abnormal MALT1-A20-NF-κB expression pattern was found in patients with lymphoma, which may result a lack of A20 and dysfunctional MALT1 and may be related to lower T cell activation, which is a common feature in Chinese patients with lymphoma. This finding may at least partially explain the molecular mechanism of T cell immunodeficiency in lymphomas.
Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.|Institute of Hematology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Xu
X
Wang
Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.|Institute of Hematology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Yan
Y
Xu
Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Lichan
L
Liang
Institute of Hematology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Yi
Y
Xu
Centre of Oncology and Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College, Guangzhou 510230, China.
Chunyan
C
Wang
Department of Oncology, First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Liang
L
Wang
Institute of Hematology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Shaohua
S
Chen
Institute of Hematology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Lijian
L
Yang
Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.|Institute of Hematology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Xiuli
X
Wu
Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.|Institute of Hematology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Bo
B
Li
Institute of Hematology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Gengxin
G
Luo
Centre of Oncology and Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College, Guangzhou 510230, China.
Huo
H
Tan
Guangdong General Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Wenyu
W
Li
Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.|Institute of Hematology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
Yangqiu
Y
Li
A20; Gene expression; Lymphoma; MALT1; NF-κB; T cell immunodeficiency