Cited by 120Immunodeficiency and Autoimmune DisordersProtein Kinase Regulation and GTPase SignalingT-cell and B-cell Immunology

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 168 of the 169 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 105 of the 151 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

The role of PLCγ2 in immunological disorders, cancer, and neurodegeneration

Open access

Abstract

Phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase Cγ2 (PLCγ2) is a critical signaling molecule activated downstream from a variety of cell surface receptors that contain an intracellular immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif. These receptors recruit kinases such as Syk, BTK, and BLNK to phosphorylate and activate PLCγ2, which then generates 1D-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and diacylglycerol. These well-known second messengers are required for diverse membrane functionality including cellular proliferation, endocytosis, and calcium flux. As a result, PLCγ2 dysfunction is associated with a variety of diseases including cancer, neurodegeneration, and immune disorders. The diverse pathologies associated with PLCγ2 are exemplified by distinct genetic variants. Inherited mutations at this locus cause PLCγ2-associated antibody deficiency and immune dysregulation, in some cases with autoinflammation. Acquired mutations at this locus, which often arise as a result of BTK inhibition to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia, result in constitutive downstream signaling and lymphocyte proliferation. Finally, a third group of PLCγ2 variants actually has a protective effect in a variety of neurodegenerative disorders, presumably by increased uptake and degradation of deleterious neurological aggregates. Therefore, manipulating PLCγ2 activity either up or down could have therapeutic benefit; however, we require a better understanding of the signaling pathways propagated by these variants before such clinical utility can be realized. Here, we review the signaling roles of PLCγ2 in hematopoietic cells to help understand the effect of mutations driving immune disorders and cancer and extrapolate from this to roles which may relate to protection against neurodegeneration.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This narrative review synthesizes the signaling biology of phospholipase Cγ2 (PLCγ2) downstream of immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif–bearing receptors and maps distinct germline and acquired *PLCG2* variants onto immune deficiency, autoinflammation, hematological malignancy, and neurodegeneration. It argues that PLCγ2 activity may need to be tuned up or down depending on disease context, but that the pathways linking its biochemistry to these diverse pathologies remain poorly understood.

Key findings

  • PLCγ2 hydrolyzes PIP2 into IP3 and DAG and is activated downstream of Syk, BTK, BLNK, Lyn, Vav, and Rac2; autoinhibition is relieved by phosphorylation at Y759, and four tyrosines (Y753, Y759, Y1197, Y1217) are phosphorylated, with Y1217 showing up to 3-fold greater phosphorylation than Y753/Y759 in maximally stimulated murine splenic B cells.
  • Inherited *PLCG2* mutations cause PLAID (cold urticaria, low serum IgG/IgM/IgA, granulomatous disease, defective neutrophil chemotaxis) and APLAID (seven reported human cases of autoinflammation; early-onset blistering skin lesions, pulmonary disease, arthralgia, inflammatory eye and bowel disease, mild immunodeficiency; refractory to TNF-α inhibitors, partial response to Anakinra). Approximately 2% of published CVID cases are estimated to carry *PLCG2* mutations.
  • Acquired *PLCG2* mutations drive ibrutinib resistance in CLL: *PLCG2* and/or *BTK* mutations are reported in 11–90% of ibrutinib-refractory CLL cases, with no *PLCG2*/*BTK* mutations detected pre-treatment in two studies, and rare subclones bearing *PLCG2* mutations selected on therapy. PLCγ2 was implicated in 63% of DLBCL cases (54 of 86 patients), where the PLC inhibitor U73122 suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in vitro.
  • The *PLCG2* P522R variant is protective against Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementia, and is associated with increased likelihood of reaching 90+ years as a cognitively healthy centenarian; it acts as a functional hypermorph with increased enzymatic activity versus WT, and shows no protective effect on progressive supranuclear palsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, or multiple sclerosis. In brain, PLCγ2 is primarily expressed in microglia, where it acts downstream of TREM2 to support survival, myelin phagocytosis, neuronal debris processing, and lipid metabolism.

Methods

  • Narrative review; the authors state no systematic search strategy, inclusion criteria, or quantitative synthesis, and describe the work as a review of PLCγ2 signaling in hematopoietic cells intended to connect mutation-driven immune disease and cancer to neurodegeneration.
  • Evidence base is the published literature, spanning mouse models (PLCγ2 enzymatic-deletion and inducible floxed knockouts, BLNK−/−PLCγ2−/−, Eμ-Myc lymphoma, Ali5 and Ali14 gain-of-function mutants, K/BxN serum-transfer arthritis, AppNL-G-F/NL-G-F and tau/Aβ AD models), human patient cohorts and case series (PLAID, APLAID, CVID, CLL, DLBCL, EBL, solid tumors), cell lines (DT40, Raji, THP-1, human iPSC-derived microglia-like cells), and GWAS/genetic association studies.
  • No new primary data, meta-analysis, or statistical modeling are presented; findings are reported as cited results from the underlying studies.

Limitations

  • The paper states no formal limitations section. Limitations evident from the text: the authors state that "the links between PLCγ2's critical biochemical functions and its diverse biological impacts are poorly understood," and that the pathogenesis of APLAID "is not yet well understood," with conflicting mechanistic data (increased IL-1β secretion from patient mononuclear cells attributed to NLRP3 inflammasome activation versus reduced IL-10 and IL-1β after LPS stimulation in whole-blood assays).
  • As a narrative review, it does not describe a systematic literature search or evidence-grading approach, so coverage and citation selection may be selective.
  • Several cited disease associations rest on small or preliminary evidence, which the text itself flags: the seven reported APLAID cases; the EBV-transformed lymphoblast upregulation of PLCγ2 described as requiring confirmation "as to whether this is indeed the process that occurs during EBV transformation and why"; and the observation that PLCγ2's influence on tumorigenesis "may be dependent on the cellular context" (opposing cisplatin-sensitivity results across studies).

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100905

Cites

168 of 168 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

105 of 151 cited sources checked · 52 supported · 3 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 93 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 42
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 2
44 of 44
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The links between PLCγ2's critical biochemical functions and its diverse biological impacts are poorly understood.

    “However, the links between PLCγ2’s critical biochemical functions and its diverse biological impacts are poorly understood.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    PLCγ2 may have a role in Alzheimer's disease and some solid cancers.

    “Moreover, research has also suggested PLCγ2 may have a role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and some solid cancers.”
2 of 2

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • CD38 signaling is described as both using and bypassing PLCγ2

    Minor

    The text includes CD38 among receptors that use PLCγ2, but the title of its cited reference explicitly describes CD38 signaling as PLCγ2-independent.

1 of 1

Citations

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Metadata

Authors
Jackson, J. T., Mulazzani, E., Nutt, S. L., & Masters, S. L.
Affiliations
  • Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (AU)
  • The University of Melbourne (AU)
Corresponding author
Masters, Seth L.
Venue
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-08
Volume
297
Issue
2
Pages
100905
ISSN
0021-9258 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3174481374
Cited by
113
References
169
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 1
FWCI
5.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Biological Chemistry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • NHMRC
  • DFG
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immunodeficiency and Autoimmune Disorders
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Kinase Regulation and GTPase Signaling
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › T-cell and B-cell Immunology
Keywords
PLCγ2, ITAM, Syk, Bruton's tyrosine kinase, BLNK, IP3, diacylglycerol, calcium signaling, antibody deficiency, autoinflammation, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, BTK inhibitors, lymphocyte proliferation, neurodegeneration, hematopoietic cells
MeSH terms
Syk Kinase, Agammaglobulinaemia Tyrosine Kinase, Animals, Humans, Immune System Diseases, Neoplasms, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Calcium Signaling, Phospholipase C gamma

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