AUTHOR=Sevdali Eirini , Katsantoni Eleni , Smulski Cristian R. , Moschovi Maria , Palassopoulou Maria , Kolokotsa Eleni-Nefeli , Argentou Nikoletta , Giannakoulas Nikolaos , Adamaki Maria , Vassilopoulos Georgios , Polychronopoulou Sophia , Germenis Anastasios E. , Eibel Hermann , Speletas Matthaios TITLE=BAFF/APRIL System Is Functional in B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in a Disease Subtype Manner JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology VOLUME=9 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2019.00594 DOI=10.3389/fonc.2019.00594 ISSN=2234-943X ABSTRACT=
BAFF, APRIL and their receptors regulate the survival, maturation and homeostasis of mature B-cells. Despite the lack of a functional role of BAFF/APRIL system during normal early B-cell development, previous studies indicated a contribution of these molecules in the pathogenesis of B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Here, we evaluated the expression of this system in B-ALL and its involvement in spontaneous and drug-induced apoptosis of B-lymphoblasts, taking into consideration the distinct disease subtypes. We found that BAFFR is the most predominant aberrantly expressed receptor in B-ALL and that its expression, along with BCMA and APRIL, positively correlates with the maturation stage of B-lymphoblasts. Moreover, the binding of the E2A-PBX1 chimeric protein to the