CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA CELLS INCREASE NEUTROPHIL SURVIVAL AND PROMOTE THEIR DIFFERENTIATION INTO CD16HIGH CD62LDIM SUBSET

PODAZA E.; RISNIK D; COLADO A; ELIAS E; FERNÁNDEZ GRECCO H; BEZARES RF; BORGE M; - GAMBERALE R; GIORDANO M

Congreso; Reunión conjunta de las sociedades de biociencias; 2017

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by the progressive accumulation of clonal B lymphocytes in blood, lymph nodes, spleen and bone marrow. Within lymphoid organs, CLL cells foster a protective microenvironment where they survive and proliferate. While almost every cell type in lymphoid tissues was reported to be modified by the leukemic clone, there is scarce information regarding the interaction of CLL cells with neutrophils. Tumor associated neutrophils (TANs), described in multiple types of solid tumors, facilitate cancer progression. Our aim was to determine if CLL cells were capable of modifying neutrophil phenotype and survival. To that purpose, neutrophils from healthy donor (HD) were co-cultured with purified leukemic cells from CLL patients (ratio 1:1) and apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry using Annexin-V. Our results showed that CLL cells delayed neutrophil apoptosis at 24-72 h (n=15, p