{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,9]],"date-time":"2026-04-09T21:46:47Z","timestamp":1775771207305,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,7]],"date-time":"2024-06-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1717718400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Infections are common in plasma cell cancer multiple myeloma (MM) due to disease-related immune deficiencies and cancer treatment. Myeloma cells express Toll-like receptors (TLRs), and TLR activation has been shown to induce proliferative and pro-survival signals in cancer cells. MM is a complex and heterogeneous disease, and expression levels of TLRs as well as downstream signaling components are likely to differ between patients. Here, we show that in a large cohort of patients, TLR1, TLR4, TLR6, TLR9, and TLR10 are the most highly expressed in primary CD138<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup> cells. Using an MM cell line expressing TLR4 and TLR9 as a model, we demonstrate that TLR4 and TLR9 activation promoted the expression of well-established pro-survival and oncogenes in MM such as <jats:italic>MYC<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>IRF4<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>NFKB<\/jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>BCL2<\/jats:italic>. TLR4 and TLR9 activation inhibited the efficacy of proteasome inhibitors bortezomib and carfilzomib, drugs used in the treatment of MM. Inhibiting the autophagosome\u2013lysosome protein degradation pathway by hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) diminished the protective effect of TLR activation on proteasome inhibitor-induced cytotoxicity. We also found that TLR signaling downregulated the expression of <jats:italic>TNFRSF17<\/jats:italic>, the gene encoding for B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA). <jats:italic>MYC<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>BCL2<\/jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>BCL2L1<\/jats:italic> were upregulated in approximately 50% of primary cells, while the response to TLR signaling in terms of <jats:italic>TNFRSF17<\/jats:italic> expression was dichotomous, as an equal fraction of patients showed upregulation and downregulation of the gene. While proteasome inhibitors are part of first-line MM treatment, several of the new anti-MM immune therapeutic drugs target BCMA. Thus, TLR activation may render MM cells less responsive to commonly used anti-myeloma drugs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2024.1393906","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,11]],"date-time":"2024-06-11T18:42:27Z","timestamp":1718131347000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Toll-like receptor signaling in multiple myeloma cells promotes the expression of pro-survival genes B-cell lymphoma 2 and MYC and modulates the expression of B-cell maturation antigen"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Synne Stokke","family":"Tryggestad","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ingrid Aass","family":"Roseth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kristin 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