Dysregulation of the c-Myc oncogene occurs in a wide variety of haematologic malignancies and its overexpression has been linked with aggressive tumour progression. Here, we show that Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)-1 and PARP-2 exert opposing influences on progression of c-Myc-driven B-cell lymphomas. PARP-1 and PARP-2 catalyse the synthesis and transfer of ADP-ribose units onto amino acid residues of acceptor proteins in response to DNA-strand breaks, playing a central role in the response to DNA damage. Accordingly, PARP inhibitors have emerged as promising new cancer therapeutics. However, the inhibitors currently available for clinical use are not able to discriminate between individual PARP proteins. We found that genetic deletion of PARP-2 prevents c-Myc-driven B-cell lymphomas, while PARP-1-deficiency accelerates lymphomagenesis in the Em-Myc mouse model of aggressive B-cell lymphoma. Loss of PARP-2 aggravates replication stress in pre-leukemic Em-Myc B cells resulting in accumulation of DNA damage and concomitant cell death that restricts the c-Myc-driven expansion of B cells, thereby providing protection against B-cell lymphoma. In contrast, PARP-1-deficiency induces a proinflammatory response, and an increase in regulatory T cells likely contributing to immune escape of B-cell lymphomas, resulting in an acceleration of lymphomagenesis. These findings pinpoint specific functions for PARP-1 and PARP-2 in c-Myc-driven lymphomagenesis with antagonistic consequences that may help inform the design of new PARP-centred therapeutic strategies with selective PARP-2 inhibition potentially representing a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of c-Myc-driven tumours.
EBV‐positive B‐cell lymphomas and lymphoproliferative disorders: Review from the perspective of immune escape and immunodeficiency