Elucidation of tonic and activated B cell receptor signaling in Burkitt’s lymphoma provides insights into regulation of cell survival

B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling promotes the survival of malignant B cells, such as Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL) and the activated B-cell-like subtype of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (ABC-DLBCL). In contrast to ABC DLBCL, where malignant cells require chronic activation of the BCR for their survival, BL cells are dependent on tonic BCR signaling that is antigen-independent. Elucidation and systematic comparison of tonic and activated BCR signaling led to the identification of novel signaling effectors, among them ACTN4 and ARFGEF2, which were identified as regulators of BL cell survival. As tonic and activated BCR signaling are relevant for important aspects of B cell biology, our study helps in gaining an understanding of BCR-induced processes not only in malignant but potentially also physiological settings.