Absence of the steroid receptor coactivator-3 induces B-cell lymphoma

Steroid receptor coactivator 3 (SRC-3/ACTR/AIB-1/pCIP/RAC3/TRAM-1) is a member of the p160 family of nuclear receptor coactivators that plays an important role in mammary gland growth, development, and tumorigenesis. We show that deletion of SRC-3 gene decreases platelet and increases lymphocytes numbers, leading to the development of malignant B-cell lymphomas upon aging. The expansion of the lymphoid lineage in SRC-3(-/-) mice is cell autonomous, correlates with an induction of proliferative and antiapoptotic genes secondary to constitutive NF-kappa B activation, and can be reversed by restoration of SRC-3 expression. NF-kappa B activation is explained by the degradation of I kappa B, consequent to increases in free I kappa B kinase, which is no longer inhibited by SRC-3. These results demonstrate that SRC-3 regulates lymphopoiesis and in combination with previous studies indicate that SRC-3 has vastly diverging effects on cell proliferation depending on the cellular context, ranging from proliferative and tumorigenic (breast) to antiproliferative (lymphoid cells) effects.