Malignant transformation of early lymphoid progenitors in mice expressing an activated Blk tyrosine kinase

Sami N. Malek, Dominic I. Dordai, Johannes Reim, Howard Dintzis, Stephen Desiderio

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51 Scopus citations

Abstract

The intracellular signals governing cellular proliferation and developmental progression during lymphocyte development are incompletely understood. The tyrosine kinase Blk is expressed preferentially in the B lineage, but its function in B cell development has been largely unexplored. We have generated transgenic mice expressing constitutively active Blk [Blk(Y495F)] in the B and T lymphoid compartments. Expression of Blk(Y495F) in the B lineage at levels similar to that of endogenous Blk induced B lymphoid tumors of limited clonality, whose phenotypes are characteristic of B cell progenitors at the proB/preB-I to preB-II transition. Expression of constitutively active Blk in the T lineage resulted in the appearance of clonal, thymic lymphomas composed of intermediate single positive cells. Taken together, these results indicate that specific B and T cell progenitor subsets are preferentially susceptible to transformation by Blk(Y495F) and suggest a role for Blk in the control of proliferation during B cell development.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)7351-7356
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume95
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 23 1998

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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