Regulation of B cell early development by CNOT3

The CCR4-NOT complex, bearing poly(A) deadenylation activity, is a highly conserved regulator that is involved in biological control; however its action mechanisms and physiological targets remain unclear. Using genetic deletion of the CNOT3 subunit of this complex in early B cell progenitors, we show that CNOT3 plays a critical role in pro- to pre-B cell transition. CNOT3 participated in controlling germline transcription, compaction of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh) locus, and Igh rearrangement, and in destabilizing tumor suppressor p53 mRNA. Moreover, by genetic ablation of p53 or introduction of pre-rearranged Igh transgene, the B cell developmental defect in the Cnot3 knockout background could be partly rescued, suggesting that CCR4-NOT complex exerts critical control in B cell differentiation processes by co-utilizing transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. Overall design: Pro-B cells mRNA profiles of Mb1(cre/+) and Cnot3(fl/fl)Mb1(cre/+) mice were generated by deep sequencing using Illumina HiSeq 1500