Expression and function of cathelicidin hCAP18/LL-37 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

PODAZA, ENRIQUE; PALACIOS, FLORENCIA; CROCI, DIEGO O; RISNIK, DENISE; YAN, XIAO J; ALMEJÚN, MARÍA BELÉN; COLADO, ANA; ELÍAS, ESTEBAN E; BORGE, MERCEDES; MORANDE, PABLO E; BEZARES, RAIMUNDO; FERNÁNDEZ-GRECCO, HORACIO; RABINOVICH, GABRIEL A; GAMBERALE, ROMINA; CHIORAZZI, NICHOLAS; GIORDANO, MIRTA

HAEMATOLOGICA

FERRATA STORTI FOUNDATION

Año: 2020

0390-6078

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by the accumulation of clonal Bcells in peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues. Circulating CLL cells are non-dividing B lymphocytes, but a significant fraction of the clone proliferates in lymphoid tissues where they receive a plethora of signals from the microenvironment that promote their survival and expansion. Cathelicidins are a family of proteins with antibacterial functions mainly expressed by neutrophils, macrophages and epithelial cells. In humans, the only member of this family, hCAP18, is encoded by the gene CAMP. The cleavage of hCAP18 generates the antimicrobial peptide LL-37, which has been recently implicated in the promotion of tumor growth, through direct stimulation of malignant cells, initiation of angiogenesis and recruitment of immune cells. In this study, we investigated the role of hCAP18/LL-37 in CLL. Our results suggest that hCAP18/LL-37 may have an active role in the CLL-tumor microenvironment by increasing leukemic clone retention and survival in lymphoid tissues.