Maria-Elena Marquez, Octavio Hernández-Uzcátegui, Alejandro Cornejo, Paula Vargas, Osiris Da Costa
Although the majority of B cells express surface CD20 in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL), only ∼50% of patients respond to treatment with rituximab. Decreased CD20 expression on these tumour B cells could be responsible for the lack of response observed in some patients treated with rituximab. Despite the potential critical role of CD20 in the biology of B cell malignancies, the mechanisms controlling its expression are poorly understood. At the bone marrow level, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) may regulate and support the survival of malignant cells, such as B-CLL cells...
April 2015: British Journal of Haematology