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The role of nuclear factor-kappaB essential modulator (NEMO) in B cell development and survival
Shinyop Kim1, Ross N A La Motte-Mohs, Dorothea Rudolph
1Advanced Medical Discovery Institute, Ontario Cancer Institute and Department of Medical Biophysics and Immunology, University of Toronto, 620 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada M5G 2C1.
Abstract:
The transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) is essential for immune and inflammatory responses. NF-kappaB essential modulator (NEMO) is a scaffolding component of the IkappaB kinase complex required for NF-kappaB activation in vitro. Because NF-kappaB activation is involved in B cell development and function, we set out to determine whether NEMO is required for these processes. NEMO(-/-) mice die very early during embryogenesis, and fetal livers from NEMO(-/-) embryos can not reconstitute either B or T lymphopoiesis in irradiated host mice. We therefore used NEMO(-/-) embryonic stem cells and the OP9 in vitro differentiation system to demonstrate that NEMO is not required for B cell development but plays an important role in B cell survival.