• Claudia Dürr, Bola S Hanna, Angela Schulz, Fabienne Lucas, Manuela Zucknick, Axel Benner, Andrew Clear, Sibylle Ohl, Selcen Öztürk, Thorsten Zenz, Stephan Stilgenbauer, Min Li-Weber, Peter H Krammer, John G Gribben, Peter Lichter, and Martina Seiffert.
• Division of Molecular Genetics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
• Haematologica. 2018 Apr 1; 103 (4): 688-697.

AbstractChronic lymphocytic leukemia is a malignancy of mature B cells that strongly depend on microenvironmental factors, and their deprivation has been identified as a promising treatment approach for this incurable disease. Cytokine array screening of 247 chronic lymphocytic leukemia serum samples revealed elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-1 which were associated with poor clinical outcome. We detected a microenvironment-induced expression of TNF receptor-1 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells in vitro, and an aberrantly high expression of this receptor in the proliferation centers of patients' lymph nodes. Stimulation of TNF receptor-1 with TNF-α enhanced nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFκB) activity and viability of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells, which was inhibited by wogonin. The therapeutic effects of wogonin were analyzed in mice after adoptive transfer of Eμ-T-cell leukemia 1 (TCL1) leukemic cells. Wogonin treatment prevented leukemia development when given early after transplantation. The treatment of full-blown leukemia resulted in the loss of the TNF receptor-1 on chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells and their mobilization to blood. Targeting TNF receptor-1 signaling is therefore proposed for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.Copyright© 2018 Ferrata Storti Foundation.

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