TRAF2 and TRAF3 Signal Adapters Act Cooperatively to Control the Maturation and Survival Signals Delivered to B Cells by the BAFF Receptor

Abstract

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factors 2 and 3 (TRAF2 and TRAF3) were shown to function in a cooperative and nonredundant manner to suppress nuclear factor-κB2 (NF-κB2) activation, gene expression, and survival in mature B cells. In the absence of this suppressive activity, B cells developed independently of the obligatory B cell survival factor, BAFF (B cell-activating factor of the tumor necrosis factor family). However, deletion of either TRAF2 or TRAF3 from the T cell lineage did not promote T cell survival, despite causing extensive NF-κB2 activation. This constitutive, lineage-specific suppression of B cell survival by TRAF2 and TRAF3 determines the requirement for BAFF to s..