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Xue X, Wen Z, Zhang X, Yang Y, Li Y, Liao R, Zheng Q, Fu Y, Liu Y, Liao H. CXCR4 overexpression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia associates with poorer prognosis: A prospective, single-center, observational study. Genes Immun 2024; 25:117-123. [PMID: 38366101 DOI: 10.1038/s41435-024-00258-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Controversial data have been reported on the prognostic value of C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). This prospective, single-center, observational study aimed to evaluate the role of CXCR4 in the pathophysiology of CLL and its prognostic role. A total of 158 patients of CLL were enrolled, and CXCR4 expression on CLL cells was detected by flow cytometry (FCM) at initial diagnosis. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the CXCR4 mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) median. Also, four patient specimens from the CXCR4low and CXCR4high groups were selected for RNASeq analysis. The progression-free survival (PFS) of CLL patients in the CXCR4high group was significantly shorter than the CXCR4low group, with a median follow-up time of 27 months (log-rank P < 0.001). Moreover, CXCR4 overexpression (MFI > 3376) was an independent marker of poor PFS in CLL patients (P < 0.001). Analysis of RNASeq results revealed that CXCR4 plays an important role in the migration of CLL. Collectively, CXCR4 expression levels on leukemia cells can be detected rapidly by FCM. CXCR4 overexpression was significantly associated with poorer prognosis in CLL patients within a shorter follow-up time.
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MESH Headings
- Humans
- Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/diagnosis
- Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/genetics
- Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/metabolism
- Prospective Studies
- Receptors, CXCR4/genetics
- Receptors, CXCR4/metabolism
- Signal Transduction
- Prognosis
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinran Xue
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Zhihao Wen
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Xin Zhang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Ying Yang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Yifei Li
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Ruoxi Liao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Qin Zheng
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Yang Fu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Yu Liu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Hongyan Liao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
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Hartmann TN. Ibrutinib and the chemotactic lymph node choreography. Haematologica 2024; 109:698-700. [PMID: 37608775 PMCID: PMC10905102 DOI: 10.3324/haematol.2023.283651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Tanja N Hartmann
- Department of Medicine I, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg.
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Moia R, Gaidano G. Prognostication in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Semin Hematol 2024:S0037-1963(24)00038-6. [PMID: 38523019 DOI: 10.1053/j.seminhematol.2024.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024]
Abstract
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of leukemia in Western countries. CLL is a highly heterogeneous disease: some patients may never require therapy and others relapse several times after different therapeutic strategies. Therefore, in CLL, prognostic markers are essential to capture high-risk patients for different clinical endpoints including early treatment requirement, early progression after BTK or BCL2 inhibitors and Richter transformation. In early stage CLL, different biological and clinical biomarkers have been identified to predict time to treatment requirement that could be used to identify the most appropriate population for early intervention clinical trial. However, at the moment, the standard of care for early stage CLL remains watch & wait since no survival benefit has been identified in clinical trials with chemoimmunotherapy and with BTK inhibitors. In patients requiring treatment TP53 disruptions identify high-risk patients who benefit the most from long-term continuous therapy with BTKi. On the opposite side of the spectrum, IGHV mutated patients devoid of TP53 disruption benefit the most from fixed-duration therapy with venetoclax-obinutuzumab. In between, the highly heterogenous subgroup of patients with IGHV unmutated genes represents the group in which further efforts are needed to identify additional prognostic biomarkers aimed at selecting patients who can benefit from fixed-duration and patients who can benefit from long term BTKi therapy. In the context of the aggressive transformation of CLL, namely Richter syndrome, the clonal relationship to the CLL counterpart represents the strongest prognostic biomarker. Clonally related Richter syndrome still represents an unmet clinical need which requires further efforts to identify new therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riccardo Moia
- Division of Hematology, Department of Translational Medicine, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Gianluca Gaidano
- Division of Hematology, Department of Translational Medicine, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy.
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Vom Stein AF, Hallek M, Nguyen PH. Role of the tumor microenvironment in CLL pathogenesis. Semin Hematol 2023:S0037-1963(23)00098-7. [PMID: 38220499 DOI: 10.1053/j.seminhematol.2023.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells extensively interact with and depend on their surrounding tumor microenvironment (TME). The TME encompasses a heterogeneous array of cell types, soluble signals, and extracellular vesicles, which contribute significantly to CLL pathogenesis. CLL cells and the TME cooperatively generate a chronic inflammatory milieu, which reciprocally reprograms the TME and activates a signaling network within CLL cells, promoting their survival and proliferation. Additionally, the inflammatory milieu exerts chemotactic effects, attracting CLL cells and other immune cells to the lymphoid tissues. The intricate CLL-TME interactions also facilitate immune evasion and compromise leukemic cell surveillance. We also review recent advances that have shed light on additional aspects that are substantially influenced by the CLL-TME interplay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander F Vom Stein
- University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf; Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne; CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, Cologne, Germany
| | - Michael Hallek
- University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf; Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne; CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, Cologne, Germany
| | - Phuong-Hien Nguyen
- University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Department I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf; Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne; CECAD Center of Excellence on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, Cologne, Germany.
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Cerreto M, Foà R, Natoni A. The Role of the Microenvironment and Cell Adhesion Molecules in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:5160. [PMID: 37958334 PMCID: PMC10647257 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15215160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a B-cell malignancy whose progression largely depends on the lymph node and bone marrow microenvironment. Indeed, CLL cells actively proliferate in specific regions of these anatomical compartments, known as proliferation centers, while being quiescent in the blood stream. Hence, CLL cell adhesion and migration into these protective niches are critical for CLL pathophysiology. CLL cells are lodged in their microenvironment through a series of molecular interactions that are mediated by cellular adhesion molecules and their counter receptors. The importance of these adhesion molecules in the clinic is demonstrated by the correlation between the expression levels of some of them, in particular CD49d, and the prognostic likelihood. Furthermore, novel therapeutic agents, such as ibrutinib, impair the functions of these adhesion molecules, leading to an egress of CLL cells from the lymph nodes and bone marrow into the circulation together with an inhibition of homing into these survival niches, thereby preventing disease progression. Several adhesion molecules have been shown to participate in CLL adhesion and migration. Their importance also stems from the observation that they are involved in promoting, directly or indirectly, survival signals that sustain CLL proliferation and limit the efficacy of standard and novel chemotherapeutic drugs, a process known as cell adhesion-mediated drug resistance. In this respect, many studies have elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying cell adhesion-mediated drug resistance, which have highlighted different signaling pathways that may represent potential therapeutic targets. Here, we review the role of the microenvironment and the adhesion molecules that have been shown to be important in CLL and their impact on transendothelial migration and cell-mediated drug resistance. We also discuss how novel therapeutic compounds modulate the function of this important class of molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Alessandro Natoni
- Hematology, Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University, 00100 Rome, Italy; (M.C.); (R.F.)
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