Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and NF-kappa B/Rel are at the divergence of CD40-mediated proliferation and survival pathways.

CD40 receptor ligation evokes several crucial outcomes for the fate of an activated B cell, including proliferation and survival. Although multiple signaling molecules in the CD40 pathways have been identified, their specific roles in regulating proliferation and maintaining cell viability are still obscure. In this report, we demonstrate that the activation of both phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI-3K) and NF-kappaB/Rel transcription factors is crucial for CD40-mediated proliferation. Furthermore, our data indicate that PI-3K is indispensable for CD40-mediated NF-kappaB/Rel activation. This is achieved via activation of AKT and the degradation of IkappaBalpha. Furthermore, we show that PI-3K activity is necessary for the degradation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27kip. Therefore, both of these events comprise the mechanism by which PI-3K controls cell proliferation. In contrast to the absolute requirement of PI-3K and NF-kappaB/Rel for proliferation, these signaling molecules are only partially responsible for CD40-mediated survival, as blocking of PI-3K activity did not lead to apoptosis of anti-CD40-treated cells. However, the PI-3K/NF-kappaB pathway is still required for CD40-induced Bcl-X gene expression. Taken together, our data indicate that multiple survival pathways are triggered via this receptor, whereas NF-kappaB/Rel and PI-3K are crucial for CD40-induced proliferation.