The importance of activation of B-cell lymphoma/CLL 10 (BCL10) 2 has been recognized previously in the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas, in which translocations involving MALT1 lead to constitutive activation of BCL10 and NF-B transcription (1, 2). Other reports have defined a critical role for BCL10 in the inflammatory cascade in epithelial cells, including activation by lysophosphatidic acid (3), G-protein-coupled receptor (4), and angiotensin II (5). In this report, we demonstrate that BCL10 was required for NF-B activation by both canonical and noncanonical pathways, following stimulation by the sulfated polysaccharide carrageenan (CGN) in mouse embryonic fibroblasts and in human colonic epithelial cells. Previously, we reported that CGN significantly up-regulated transcription of BCL10 in NCM460 cells (6, 7). The sulfated polysaccharide carrageenan has been widely used for decades to induce inflammation in animal and tissue culture models. In our previous work, CGN was shown to induce an inflammatory cascade in human colonic epithelial cells by two distinct mechanisms: an immune-mediated mechanism involving TLR4 (toll-like receptor 4), IRAK (IL-1 receptor activating kinase), BCL10, phospho-IB␣ (inhibitor of B), NF-B (nuclear factor B), and IL-8 (interleukin-8); and a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated mechanism involving phospho-Hsp27, IB kinase (IKK)-, phospho-IB␣, BCL10, NF-B, and . Carrageenan activation of these pathways was attributable to its distinctive chemical structure, including its resemblance to the naturally occurring glycosaminoglycans, its highly sulfated galactose residues, and its unusual ␣-Gal(133)Gal bond that is a known immune epitope (10, 11). Because CGN is a commonly used food additive in the Western diet, these pathways may induce inflammation and disease in the human colon and implicate a role for BCL10 in human disease, in addition to the MALT lymphomas.To further define the BCL10-mediated activation of NF-B and the interactions between the ROS and TLR4-BCL10 pathways, the requirements for different components of the IKK signaling complex and the responses of different members of the NF-B family were investigated. The IKK signaling complex, including the catalytic components IKK␣ and IKK and the regulatory component IKK␥, also known as NEMO (NF-B essential modifying factor), integrates upstream signals and leads to the phosphorylation of IB␣. Subsequently, phospho-IB␣ is ubiquitinated, and the localization signal for NF-B nuclear translocation is exposed. These events represent critical signals in the progression of the inflammatory cascade from * This work was supported in part by the Department of Veterans Affairs (to J. K. T.) and by NIDDK, National Institutes of Health Grants DK68324 and DK54016 (to P. K. D.