title: Increased serum levels of soluble CD44 standard, but not of variant isoforms v5 and v6, in B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
abstract: The CD44 cell surface proteoglycan participates in a variety of functions including lymphohematopoiesis, lymphocyte homing and tumor metastasis. In addition to the standard form (CD44st), a large family of variant isoforms (CD44v) is generated by alternative splicing of a single gene. Certain CD44v (v5 and V6) are upregulated in the course of neoplastic progression and reflect the metastatic potential of tumor cells. CD44 v6 is expressed in high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cells and is released in the serum, thus providing a soluble marker that reflects tumor burden, disease progression and treatment response. Here we show that serum CD44st is elevated in approximately half of B-CLL patients. In contrast, CD44v5 and v6 are detected at normal levels in the large majority of the cases. CD44st serum levels correlate significantly with the number of circulating leukemic B cells and with the levels of another soluble B-CLL marker, beta2-microglobulin. Immunoprecipitation analyses of B-CLL sera allow detection of several high molecular weight bands and of a 78 kDa band that represents a soluble form of CD44st and is 4 kDa lower than a similar band (82 kDa) detected in B-CLL cell lysates. Elevated serum CD44st associates with a number of unfavorable prognostic factors such as high peripheral blood lymphocytosis, splenomegaly, advanced disease stage and therapy requirement. A follow-up study indicates that serum levels of CD44st are related to disease status, thus reinforcing our veiw that this molecule may represent a reliable tumor marker in B-CLL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Biopathology, University of Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Rossi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marroni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paganuzzi
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Mauro
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tenca
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zarcone
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Velardi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Molica
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Grossi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000097:blood*; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors