The B-cell receptor (BCR) plays an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). By global microRNA profiling of CLL cells stimulated or not stimulated by anti-IgM, significant up-regulation of microRNAs from the miR-132~212 cluster was observed both in IGHV gene unmutated (UM) and mutated (M) CLL cells. Parallel gene expression profiling identified SIRT1, a deacetylase targeting several proteins including TP53, among the top-ranked miR-132 target genes down-regulated upon anti-IgM exposure. The direct regulation of SIRT1 expression by miR-132 was demonstrated using luciferase assays. The reduction of SIRT1 mRNA and protein (P = 0.001) upon anti-IgM stimulation was associated with an increase in TP53 acetylation (P = 0.007), and the parallel up-regulation of the TP53 target gene CDKN1A. Consistently, miR-132 transfections of CLL-like cells resulted in down-regulation of SIRT1 and an induction of a TP53-dependent apoptosis. Finally, in a series of 134 CLL samples, miR-132, when expressed above the median value, associated with prolonged time-to-first-treatment in patients with M CLL (HR = 0.41; P = 0.02). Collectively, the miR-132/SIRT1/TP53 axis was identified as a novel pathway triggered by BCR engagement that further increases the complexity of the interactions between tumor microenvironments and CLL cells.
Keywords: BCR; CLL; miR-132.