Potential Oncogenic Effect of the MERTK-Dependent Apoptotic-Cell Clearance Pathway in Starry-Sky B-Cell Lymphoma.

ABSTRACT: The histological architecture of certain aggressive B-cell lymphomas (prototypically Burkitt's lymphoma, BL) is characterized by a "starry-sky" (SS) appearance. This is caused by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), which appear in standard histological preparations as "stars" in a darkly stained "sky" of lymphoma cells. SS-TAMs accumulate in response to constitutive apoptosis in these tumors and are activated by the apoptotic tumor cells to a pro-oncogenic phenotype. The extent to which SS-TAMs contribute to lymphoma growth through responses generated by interactions with apoptotic tumor cells is unknown. Here, we demonstrate a role for the receptor tyrosine kinase, MERTK, in the oncogenic activity of SS-TAMs. We show that MERTK expression is largely restricted to the macrophages of human

SUBMITTER: Farnworth-McHugh S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7468413 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature