Abstract 2496: YY1 regulates the germinal center reaction by inhibiting apoptosis

Abstract

Abstract The germinal center (GC) reaction produces high-affinity antibodies for a robust adaptive immune response. If dysregulated, the same processes cause GC B cells to become susceptible to lymphomagenesis. It is important to understand how the GC reaction is regulated. In this study, we show that transcription factor YY1 is required to maintain a robust GC reaction in mice. Selective ablation of YY1 significantly decreased in the frequency and number of GC B cells during the GC reaction. This decrease of GC B cells was accompanied by increased apoptosis in these cells. Further, we found that loss of YY1 disrupted the balance between dark zones and light zones, leading to a preferential decrease in dark zone cells. Collectively, these results indicate that YY1 plays an important role in regulating the balance between dark zone and light zone cells in GCs and between survival and death of GC B cells. Citation Format: Sally E. Trabucco, Hong Zhang. YY1 regulates the germinal center reaction by inhibiting apoptosis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2496.