CXC chemokine ligand 13 and CC chemokine ligand 19 cooperatively render resistance to apoptosis in B cell lineage acute and chronic lymphocytic leukemia CD23+CD5+ B cells.

CXCL13/CXCR5 and CCL19/CCR7 play a quite important role in normal physiological conditions, but the functions of both chemokine/receptor pairs in pathophysiological events are not well-investigated. We have investigated expression and functions of CXCL13/CXCR5 and CCL19/CCR7 in CD23+CD5+ and CD23+CD5- B cells from cord blood (CB) and patients with B cell lineage acute or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL or B-CLL). CXCR5 and CCR7 are selectively expressed on B-ALL, B-CLL, and CB CD23+CD5+ B cells at high frequency, but not on CD23+CD5- B cells. Although no significant chemotactic responsiveness was observed, CXCL13 and CCL19 cooperatively induce significant resistance to TNF-alpha-mediated apoptosis in B-ALL and B-CLL CD23+CD5+ B cells, but not in the cells from CB. B-ALL and B-CLL CD23+CD5+ B cells express elevated levels of paternally expressed gene 10 (PEG10). CXCL13 and CCL19 together significantly up-regulate PEG10 expression in the same cells. We have found that CXCL13 and CCL19 together by means of activation of CXCR5 and CCR7 up-regulate PEG10 expression and function, subsequently stabilize caspase-3 and caspase-8 in B-ALL and B-CLL CD23+CD5+ B cells, and further rescue the cells from TNF-alpha-mediated apoptosis. Therefore, we suggest that normal lymphocytes, especially naive B and T cells, use CXCL13/CXCR5 and CCL19/CCR7 for migration, homing, maturation, and cell homeostasis as well as secondary lymphoid tissues organogenesis. In addition, certain malignant cells take advantages of CXCL13/CXCR5 and CCL19/CCR7 for infiltration, resistance to apoptosis, and inappropriate proliferation.