Influence of the Wnt pathway on the proliferation of mouse B-1 cells over aging

• Grant number: 20/11282-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2020
• End date: June 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Ana Flavia Popi
• Grantee: Victoria Pomiecinski Oliveira
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The appearance of hyperproliferative diseases, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), is directly related to problems in the process of apoptosis of cells as well as to the immunosenescence brought about with the advancing age of an individual. Studies have shown that with age there is an increase in the population of B-1 cells (cell type found in this disease). This leads to the hypothesis that immunosenescence is related to the clonal expansion of these cells. The classical Wnt pathway acts on the proliferation of mature B-1 cells, while the non-classical pathway acts on the expansion of its precursors. In experiments by our group it was seen that precursors of B-1 obtained from elderly animals (30 weeks) do not behave in the same way as precursors obtained from young animals (8 weeks). There were differences between groups in the number of precursors throughout aging and in their proliferation after cultivation with ligands from the Wnt pathway. This points to the possibility of a relationship between precursors and hyperproliferative diseases. However, it has not yet been studied whether there are differences in the response of mature B-1 cells over aging after these cultures. Therefore, this project aims to evaluate the proliferation and viability of B-1 cells when stimulated by ligands of the classic and non-classical Wnt pathway, in addition to analyzing the expression of microRNAs associated with the apoptosis process, which are unregulated in the CLL.