FcmR Shapes BCR Signaling in IgM-Positive Leukemia

Abstract Background: The Fc receptor for IgM (FcmR/ TOSO) is significantly overexpressed on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells from peripheral blood, but becomes down-regulated in the tumor microenvironment by e.g. CD40:CD40L interaction. Since the functional role of FcmR on lymphomagenesis is still not understood, we developed a conditional knockout mouse with B cell-specific FcmR-depletion. These mice were crossbred with the Eµ-TCL1 murine model, which develops a CLL-like phenotype. Results: The depletion of FcmR/TOSO in TCL1 mice (Eµ-Tcl1tg/wt FcmRfl/fl CD19cre/wt; further on called TCT) revealed a significantly shorter overall survival (296 days; n=40) compared to the TOSO expressing control mice (Eµ-Tcl1tg/wt FcmRwt/wt CD19cre/wt; TC; 344 days; n=106; Log-rank p Therefore, to validate the functional role of FcmR in the process of lymphomagenesis, we performed transcriptome profiling by RNA-Seq using splenic leukemic cells (CD19+ CD5+) from 36-week old TC (n=4) and TCT (n=4) mice. 2089 genes were found to be significantly modulated in the malignant cells of TCT mice, from which 1221 were downregulated and 868 showed an upregulation (significant change in mean expression; p Conclusion: Here we present functional evidence that loss of FcmR results in increased IgM/BCR on the surface of non-switched leukemia. Moreover, malignant cells with loss of FcmR are more susceptible to BCR stimulation and show a signature of signalling pathways, which contribute to inflammation in B cell malignancies. Disclosures Fingerle-Rowson: MorphoSys: Employment. Pallasch: Gilead: Research Funding. Wendtner: Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; Mundipharma: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; GlaxoSmithKline: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; Genetech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; MorphoSys: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel support, Research Funding.