Deletion of NF-kappa/p50 influences the outcome of Notch3-dependent T cell leukemia

The deregulation of Notch3 signaling inside T-cell compartment of transgenic (N3-tg) mice, induces an aggressive form of T-cell acute lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-ALL), sustained by a constitutive activation of the NF-B canonical pathway, mainly represented by the p50/p65 heterodimer. To clarify the Notch/NF-B relationships in the development of T-ALL, we generated double mutant mice, deleted of the NF-B/p50 subunit in a Notch3 transgenic background (N3-tg/p50-/-). The follow-up of N3-tg/p50-/- versus N3-tg mice revealed that p50 deletion strongly inhibits the development of Notch3-dependent T-ALL. Surprisingly, double mutant succumb earlier than N3-tg mice, displaying the trait of a myeloproliferative disease, with an aberrant accumulation of Mac1+Gr1+ myeloid cells in both spleen and peripheral blood, as well as of granulocyte/monocyte progenitors in the bone marrow. Our preliminary results suggest that Notch3 overexpression in T-cell compartment is able to influence, possibly in trans, the equilibrium of the myeloid compartment and that the ablation of NF-B canonical pathway may impact on the outcomes of a T-cell specific deregulation of Notch signaling. We provide a useful experimental model to extend our understanding of Notch/NF-B interplay in hemopoietic system and to unravel novel relationships between lymphoid and myeloid differentiation.