Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase blockade increases genomic instability in B cells

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is a B-ceII-specific enzyme that targets immunoglobulin genes to initiate class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation. In addition, through off-target activity, AID has a much broader effect on genomic instability by initiating oncogenic chromosomal translocations and mutations invoIved in the deveIopment and progression of lymphoma. AID expression is tightly regulated in B cells and its overexpression leads to enhanced genomic instability and lymphoma formation. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase ô (PI3Kô) pathway regulates AID by suppressing its expression in B cells. Drugs for leukaemia or lymphoma therapy such as idelalisib, duvelisib and ibrutinib block PI3KÔ activity directly or indirectly, potentially affecting AID expression and, consequently, genomic stability in B cells. Here we show that treatment of primary mouse B cells with ideIaIisib or duveIisib, and to a Iesser extent ibrutinib, enhanced the expression of AID and increased somatic hypermutation and chromosomal translocation frequency to the Igh locus and to several AID off-target sites. Both of these effects were completely abrogated in AID-deficient B cells. PI3KÔ inhibitors or ibrutinib increased the formation of AID-dependent tumours in pristane-treated mice. Consistently, PI3KÔ inhibitors enhanced AID expression and translocation frequency to IGH and AID off-target sites in human chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and mantle cell lymphoma cell lines, and patients treated with idelalisib, but not ibrutinib, showed increased somatic hypermutation in AID off-targets. In summary, we show that PI3KÔ or Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors increase genomic instability in normal and neoplastic B cells by an AIDdependent mechanism. This effect should be carefully considered, as such inhibitors can be administered to patients for years.