0000000000025677

AUTHOR

Laura De Stefano

Microenvironment Regulation of IL23R/IL-23 Axis Drives Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Progression

Abstract Background : CLL displays a considerable degree of clinical heterogeneity, which is in part ascribable to clone-intrinsic biological features and that are also influenced by clone-extrinsic events related to the microenvironment. Among the dynamics-taking place within the CLL microenvironment, those finalized to the induction of an overly inflammatory milieu may significantly impact on the CLL natural history by hijacking the immunological microenvironment at the same time fostering clone fitness. IL-23 acts as a prototypical pro-inflammatory mediator representing a promising therapeutic target. We analyzed the ability of CLL cells to sense IL-23 through the IL-23R complex (consist…

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The Pro-Inflammatory IL23/IL23R/IL17 Axis Is Active in IL23R-Expressing Circulating CLL Cells in Patients with Poor Prognosis

Abstract Abstract 3889 Inflammatory cytokines play a biological role in the pathogenesis of Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). IL23 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in T-cell responses and in tissue remodeling. It has been shown that the IL23 receptor (IL23R) is up-regulated in primary acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells, and that IL23 inhibits ALL cell growth. Nevertheless, the anti-tumor function of IL23 still remains controversial. The role of the IL23R/IL23 axis in CLL has not been investigated so far. Herein we evaluated the expression pattern of IL23R/IL23 axis and its correlation with progression free survival (PFS) in CLL patients. A total of 233 newly diagnosed Binet s…

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Flow Cytometric Immunobead Assay for Detection of BCR-ABL1 Fusion Proteins in Chronic Myleoid Leukemia: Comparison with FISH and PCR Techniques

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is characterized by a balanced translocation juxtaposing the Abelson (ABL) and breakpoint cluster region (BCR) genes. The resulting BCR-ABL1 oncogene leads to increased proliferation and survival of leukemic cells. Successful treatment of CML has been accompanied by steady improvements in our capacity to accurately and sensitively monitor therapy response. Currently, measurement of BCR-ABL1 mRNA transcript levels by real-time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR) defines critical response endpoints. An antibody-based technique for BCR-ABL1 protein recognition could be an attractive alternative to RQ-PCR. To date, there have been no studies evaluating whether flow-cytometr…

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Microenvironmental regulation of the IL-23R/IL-23 axis overrides chronic lymphocytic leukemia indolence

Although the progression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) requires the cooperation of the microenvironment, the exact cellular and molecular mechanisms involved are still unclear. We investigated the interleukin (IL)-23 receptor (IL-23R)/IL-23 axis and found that circulating cells from early-stage CLL patients with shorter time-to-treatment, but not of those with a more benign course, expressed a defective form of the IL-23R complex lacking the IL-12Rβ1 chain. However, cells from both patient groups expressed the complete IL-23R complex in tissue infiltrates and could be induced to express the IL-12Rβ1 chain when cocultured with activated T cells or CD40L+ cells. CLL cells activated in…

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