This study was aimed to investigate the role of several chemokine and their receptors on malignant B lymphocytes recovered from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL, 13 patients), hairy cell leukemia (HCL, 9 patients), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL, 5 patients), marginal zone B cell lymphoma (MZL, 5 patients), lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL, 6 patients) and follicular cell lymphoma (FCL, 5 patients). Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that CXCR4 and CXCR5 were expressed on all malignant and normal B cells. Considering CC receptors, CCR1 was expressed in 70% of CLL and 40% of HCL patients but lacking in MCL, MZL, SLL and normal B cells. CCR2 showed a heterogenous pattern of expression. CCR3 was found in almost all patients with CLL and in the majority of HCL subjects, while it was usually lacking in MZL, SLL and healthy subjects. CCR5 was expressed in HCL and MCL. Migration assays showed that different chemokines, mainly CXCL12 and CXCL13, are able to trigger migration of malignant B lymphocytes. Some of these chemokines induce calcium mobilization. These data indicate that different patterns of chemokine receptor expression identify different malignant B cell subsets and that these receptors are functional and might play a role in malignant B-cell circulation.

PMID: 15001469 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]