The adaptor protein BLNK is required for B cell antigen receptor-induced activation of nuclear factor-kappa B and cell cycle entry and survival of B lymphocytes

B lymphocytes lacking the adaptor protein B cell linker (BLNK) do not proli ferate in response to B cell antigen receptor (BCR) engagement. We demonstr ate here that BCR-activated BLNK-/- B cells fail to enter the cell cycle, a nd this is due to their inability to induce the expression of the cell cycl e regulatory proteins such as cyclin D2 and cyclin-dependent kinase 4. BCR- stimulated BLNK-/- B cells also do not up-regulate the cell survival protei n Bcl-x(L), which may be necessary for the cells to complete the cell cycle . In addition, BLNK-/- B cells exhibit a high rate of spontaneous apoptosis in culture. Examination of the various BCR-activated signaling pathways in mouse BLNK-/- B cells reveals the intact activation of Akt and mitogen-act ivated protein kinases but the impaired activation of nuclear factor (NF)-k appaB that is known to regulate genes involved in cell proliferation and su rvival. The inability to activate NF-kappaB in BCR-stimulated BLNK-/- B cel ls is due to a failure to induce the degradation of the inhibitory kappaB p rotein. In all these aspects, BLNK-/- B cells resemble xid B cells that hav e a mutation in Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk). Recently, phospholipase C ( PLC)-gamma2 has also been demonstrated to be essential for NF-kappaB activa tion. Since BLNK has been shown separately to interact with both Btk and PL C-gamma2, our finding of normal Btk but impaired PLC-gamma2 activation in B CR-stimulated BLMK-/- B cells strongly suggests that BLNK orchestrates the formation of a Btk-PLC-gamma2 signaling axis that regulates NF-kappaB activ ation. Taken together, the NF-kappaB activation defect may be sufficient to explain the similar defects in BCR-induced B cell proliferation and T cell -independent immune responses in BLNK-/-, Btk(-/-), and PLC-gamma2(-/-) mic e.