NF-κB Mutations in Germinal Center B-Cell Lymphomas: Relation to NF-κB Function in Normal B Cells

Most B cell lymphomas arise from the oncogenic transformation of B cells that have undergone the germinal center (GC) reaction of the T cell-dependent immune response, where high-affinity memory B cells and plasma cells are generated. The high proliferation of GC B cells coupled with occasional errors in the DNA-modifying processes of somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination put the cell at a risk to obtain transforming genetic aberrations, which may activate proto-oncogenes or inactivate tumour suppressor genes. Several subtypes of GC lymphomas harbor genetic mutations leading to constitutive, aberrant activation of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) signaling pathway. In normal B cells, NF-kappa B has crucial biological roles in development and physiology. GC lymphomas highjack these activities to promote tumour-cell growth and survival. It has become increasingly clear that the separate canonical and non-canonical routes of the NF-kappa B pathway and the five downstream NF-kappa B transcription factors have distinct functions in the successive stages of GC B-cell development. These findings may have direct implications for understanding how aberrant NF-kappa B activation promotes the genesis of various GC lymphomas corresponding to the developmentally distinct GC B-cell subsets. The knowledge arising from these studies may be explored for the development of precision medicine approaches aimed at more effective treatments of the corresponding tumours with specific NF-kappa B inhibitors, thus reducing systemic toxicity. We here provide an overview on the patterns of genetic NF-kappa B mutations encountered in the various GC lymphomas and discuss the consequences of aberrant NF-kappa B activation in those malignancies as related to the biology of NF-kappa B in their putative normal cellular counterparts.