Reduced BCR Signaling and a Metabolic Shift Accompanies Malignant Progression of Follicular Lymphoma: A Lesson from Transcriptomics

In the manuscript entitled “The ion channels and transporters gene expression profile indicates a shift in excitability and metabolisms during malignant progression of Follicular Lymphoma” [1], we reported recent advances in our understanding of how the gene expression profile of ion channels and transporters (ICT-GEP) contributes to identify specific signatures associated with Follicular Lymphoma (FL), with those FL that acquire chemoresistance after a relapsing-remitting course, and with the more aggressive Diffuse Large Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), which may represent the evolution of FLs. From the analysis of how ICT-GEP changes during FL malignant progression emerged the progressive decrease in the expression of genes encoding those channels which are responsible for the maintenance of the ionic homeostasis and the driving force for Ca2+ entry, upon cell activation, as well as a shift from a glycolytic to an oxidative metabolism.