title: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia B cells express functional CXCR4 chemokine receptors that mediate spontaneous migration beneath bone marrow stromal cells.
abstract: Chemokines play a central role for lymphocyte trafficking and homing. The mechanisms that direct the tissue localization of B cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) are unknown. We found that CLL B cells express functional CXCR4 receptors for the chemokine stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), as demonstrated by receptor endocytosis, calcium mobilization, and actin polymerization assays. Moreover, CLL B cells displayed chemotaxis to this chemokine that could be inhibited by monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) against CXCR4, pertussis toxin, or Wortmannin, a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor. That this chemotaxis may be involved in the homing of CLL cells is argued by studies in which CLL B cells were cocultured with a murine marrow stromal cell line that secretes SDF-1. Within 2 hours, CLL B cells spontaneously migrated beneath such stromal cells in vitro (pseudoemperipolesis). This migration could be inhibited by pretreatment of CLL B cells with anti-CXCR4 MoAbs, SDF-1alpha, or pertussis-toxin. Furthermore, we noted strong downmodulation of CXCR4 on CLL B cells that migrated into the stromal cell layer. These findings demonstrate that the chemokine receptor CXCR4 on CLL B cells plays a critical role for heterotypic adherence to marrow stromal cells and provide a new mechanism to account for the marrow infiltration by neoplastic B cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, the Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0663, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Burger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burger
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Kipps
mesh_terms: D002465:Cell Movement; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D019718:Receptors, CXCR4