Table 1.
Transcription factors that regulate B cell differentiation are associated with B cell malignacies.
| Transcription factor | Expression in mature B cells subsets* | Role in terminal B cell differentiation* | Associated B cell malignancies |
|---|---|---|---|
| BCL6 | Specifically expressed in GC B cells | GC formation and maintenance / GC B cell proliferation during genotoxic stress / Regulation of PC differentiation / Role in memory B cell formation unresolved [39,60] | GCB-DLBCL [99] |
| MTA3 | Specifically expressed in GC B cells | Regulation of PC differentiation | Unknown |
| PAX-5 | All, except PCs | Regulation of PC differentiation | LPL [100] |
| MiTF | Naive B cells | Regulation of PC differentiation | Unknown |
| Spi-B | All, except PCs | Regulation of PC differentiation [42] | ABC-DLBCL [65,66] |
| Ets-1 | All, except PCs | Regulation of PC differentiation. Blocks BLIMP1 activity [44] | Unknown |
| IRF-8 | Specifically expressed in GC B cells, absent in PCs | Regulates AID and BCL6 [73] | Unknown |
| OBF-1 | All | Represses early differentiation but critical for the completion of PC development [57] | Unknown |
| BLIMP1 | High in PCs | Crucial for PC formation and Ab secretion | ABC-DLBCL [101,102] |
| XBP-1 | High in PCs | Required for Ab secretion | Unknown |
| IRF-4 | Expressed in some centrocytes, high in PCs | Required for PC formation | MM [74] |
| Active STAT3 | High in GC B cells | Activated by the Tfh cytokine IL-21. Induces BLIMP1 expression and PC formation [33,40] | ABC-DLBCL [41,67], MM [103], cHL [71,104], MCL [105] |
| Active STAT5 | High in CD25+ centrocytes | Differentiation into memory B cells [39] | PMBL [106], cHL [70] |
*
For more details and additional primary references see other reviews [29,30,55]. Abbreviations: cHL: classical Hodgkin lymphoma, DLBCL: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (GCB: Germinal center B-cell-like, ABC: Activated B-cell-like), LPL: lymphoplasmacytoid lymphoma, MM: Multiple myeloma, MCL: Mantel-cell lymphoma, PMBL: Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma.