Role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL) is a clinically heterogeneous disease characterised by the accumulation of a clonal population of B lymphocytes. This accumulation is considered to result from the prolonged survival of B-CLL cells arrested in the G0 stage of the cell cycle. However, when cultured in vitro, B-CLL cells die rapidly by apoptosis. It is now clear that a number of factors can delay or postpone the onset of apoptosis, including a number of cytokines and direct contact with different cell types. Although many drugs are now known to cause clinical improvement in B-CLL by causing apoptosis of B-CLL cells, in only a few cases have biological mechanisms been reported to have similar effects. It is now important to understand the role of these mechanisms in the pathogenesis and progression of B-CLL, and to devise strategies to exploit them for therapeutic use.
Jewell
Andrew P
AP
School of Life Science, Kingston University, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey KT1 2EE, UK. a.jewell@kingston.ac.uk
D017209:Apoptosis; D002455:Cell Division; D006801:Humans; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000502:physiology
D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2