BAFF and APRIL expression in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Correlation with biological and clinical features

• Published in: Leukemia research 2009-10, Vol.33 (10), p.1319-1327
• Main Authors: Bojarska-Junak, Agnieszka, Hus, Iwona, Chocholska, Sylwia, Wąsik-Szczepanek, Ewa, Sieklucka, Małgorzata, Dmoszyńska, Anna, Roliński, Jacek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; APRIL; B-Cell Activating Factor - blood; B-Cell Activating Factor - genetics; B-Cell Activating Factor - metabolism; B-CLL; B-Lymphocytes - pathology; BAFF; CD38; Female; Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Medicine; Humans; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell - blood; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell - genetics; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell - mortality; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell - pathology; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Neoplasm - genetics; Survival Analysis; Survivors; Tumor Necrosis Factor Ligand Superfamily Member 13 - blood; Tumor Necrosis Factor Ligand Superfamily Member 13 - genetics; Tumor Necrosis Factor Ligand Superfamily Member 13 - metabolism; ZAP-70
• ISSN: 0145-2126; 1873-5835
• DOI: 10.1016/j.leukres.2009.03.030

Abstract B-cell activating factor (BAFF) and a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) are involved in normal B cell survival and differentiation. We analyzed BAFF and APRIL plasma levels in patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL). We also tested intracellular BAFF and APRIL expression in B-CLL and evaluated their prognostic relevance. The percentage of leukemic B cells with intracellular APRIL or BAFF expression correlated significantly with adverse prognostic factors such as ZAP-70 and CD38. Moreover, we found a close relationship between LPL protein expression or LPL/ADAM29 MFI ratio and proportion of B-CLL cells with intracellular BAFF or APRIL expression. Furthermore, patients with a low percentage of leukemic cells with intracellular BAFF or APRIL expression had a significantly longer overall survival than those with a high proportion of APRIL or BAFF positive leukemic cells.