Inactivating mutations in GNA13 and RHOA in Burkitt's lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a tumor suppressor function for the Gα₁₃/RhoA axis in B cells

G proteins and their cognate G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) function as critical signal transduction molecules that regulate cell survival, proliferation, motility and differentiation. The aberrant expression and/or function of these molecules have been linked to the growth, progression and metastasis of various cancers. As such, the analysis of mutations in the genes encoding GPCRs, G proteins and their downstream targets provides important clues regarding how these signaling cascades contribute to malignancy. Recent genome-wide sequencing efforts have unveiled the presence of frequent mutations in GNA13, the gene encoding the G protein Gα₁₃, in Burkitt's lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). We found that mutations in the downstream target of Gα₁₃, RhoA, are also present in Burkitt's lymphoma and DLBCL. By multiple complementary approaches, we now show that that these cancer-specific GNA13 and RHOA mutations are inhibitory in nature, and that the expression of wild-type Gα₁₃ in B-cell lymphoma cells with mutant GNA13 has limited impact in vitro but results in a remarkable growth inhibition in vivo. Thus, although Gα₁₃ and RhoA activity has previously been linked to cellular transformation and metastatic potential of epithelial cancers, our findings support a tumor suppressive role for Gα₁₃ and RhoA in Burkitt's lymphoma and DLBCL.