RNA interference-based screens for molecular targets in cancer

Division Of Basic Sciences - Nci

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Abstract

The Staudt laboratory has conducted RNA interference genetic screens for genes required for the proliferation and/or survival of human cell lines representing various subtypes of lymphoma and multiple myeloma. In diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), previous work in the Staudt laboratory demonstrated that the anti-apoptotic NF-kB pathway is constitutively active in the activated B cell-like (ABC) subtypes of DLBCL but not the germinal center B cell-like (GCB) subtype of DLBCL, but the mechanisms underlying this abnormal signaling were enigmatic. The laboratory therefore conducted an RNAi screen in ABC and GCB DLBCL cell lines, searching for shRNAs that were selectively toxic for ABC DLBCL cells. This effort revealed that a signaling complex comprised of CARD11, MALT1, and BCL10 is required for the survival of ABC but not GCB DLBCL cell lines. In normal lymphocytes, this CARD11 complex engages the NF-kB pathway during antigen receptor signaling. The Staudt laboratory demonstrated that this signaling complex is responsible for the constitutive activation of the NF-kB pathway in ABC DLBCLs. A recent RNAi screen uncovered a crucial dependency of multiple myeloma cells on IRF4, a lymphoid-restricted transcriptional factor that is required for both lymphocyte activation and for plasmacytic differentiation. IRF4 knockdown by RNAi was toxic to 10 different myeloma cell lines representing many of the known genetic subtypes of this cancer. Of note, IRF4 is not translocated, amplified or mutated in most cases of multiple myeloma, and thus the dependency of myeloma cells on IRF4 exemplifies a new concept in cancer biology known as non-oncogene addiction. These results establish IRF4 as an important new therapeutic target in this lethal cancer.