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Updated: Aug 18, 2025

Native Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis Immunoblot Analysis of Endogenous IRF5 Dimerization
Published on: October 6, 2019
The dynamic functions of IRF4 in B cell malignancies
Rossana Maffei1, Stefania Fiorcari2, Claudio Giacinto Atene2
1Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Diagnostic Hematology and Clinical Genomics, AUSL/AOU Modena, Modena, Italy. maffei.rossana@aou.mo.it.
Abstract:
The trajectory of B cell development goes through subsequent steps governed by complex genetic programs, strictly regulated by multiple transcription factors. Interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) regulates key points from pre-B cell development and receptor editing to germinal center formation, class-switch recombination and plasma cell differentiation. The pleiotropic ability of IRF4 is mediated by its "kinetic control", allowing different IRF4 expression levels to activate distinct genetic programs due to modulation of IRF4 DNA-binding affinity. IRF4 is implicated in B cell malignancies, acting both as tumor suppressor and as tumor oncogene in different types of precursors and mature B cell neoplasia. Here, we summarize the complexity of IRF4 functions related to different DNA-binding affinity, multiple IRF4-specific target DNA motif, and interactions with transcriptional partners. Moreover, we describe the unique role of IRF4 in acute leukemias and B cell mature neoplasia, focusing on pathogenetic implications and possible therapeutic strategies in multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
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