CXCR4 in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML): When too much attraction is bad for you

Posted by rob on April 24, 2009 under Uncategorized | Comments are off for this article

In this issue of Leukemia Research, Tavernier-Tardy and colleagues provide evidence that an “adhesive” phenotype of the leukemia cells, characterized by higher surface expression of CXCR4 chemokine receptors, VLA-4 integrins, and the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is associated with poor outcome in patients with AML. As such, this report is in line with a series of pre-clinical and clinical reports that came out over the last few years (reviewed in ), highlighting the importance of the microenvironment in acute and chronic leukemias. Our current concepts about the microenvironment in leukemia imply that chemokine receptors and adhesion molecules, which normally work hand in hand during leukocyte trafficking , are also central players in leukemia cell migration and homing to tissue niches …