Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL) is primarily a B cell lymphoid neoplasm and a member of the CD30-positive lymphomas. cHL and the other CD30-positive lymphomas are characterized by the elevated expression and/or constitutive activation of the activator protein-1 (AP-1) family transcription factors, c-Jun and JunB; however, the specific roles they play in the pathobiology of cHL are unclear.
In this review, we focus on the impact of deregulated expression of AP-1 TFs in CD30-positive lymphomas including Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma and Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma.
c-JUN N-terminal Kinase (JNK) is activated/phosphorylated by upstream MAPK kinases (MKK), and, in turn, phosphorylates and activates its major substrate c-JUN, a member of the activator protein-1 (AP-1) transcription factors. c-JUN is overexpressed and activated in Hodgkin and Reed Sternberg cells (HRS) of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), however, the mechanism of its activation remains unknown.