الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Summary and Conclusion Summary and Conclusion Summary and Conclusion Summary and ConclusionSummary and Conclusion Summary and Conclusion Summary: B-CLL is the most frequent type of adult leukaemia in western countries. It is a heterogeneous disease with a highly variable clinical course and prognosis. The staging systems developed by Rai and Binet have been recognised as standard methods of assessing the survival and the treatment requirements in B-CLL patients. There is a need to seek out other prognostic factors in the early stage of the disease to identify stable or progressive forms of CLL that might facilitate risk-adapted treatment strategies. CD26 is a multifunctional type II cell surface glycoprotein that is widely expressed by T lymphocytes, natural killer (NK), epithelial, endothelial and acinar cells of many tissues. CD26 expression is very low in B-cells; however, it is upregulated following in vitro activation. CD26 has been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis and progression of many types of tumors. Also, it may play a role in preventing apoptosis and metastasis as a result of its tumors ability to bind extracellular matrix proteins. LAIR1 (Leukocyte-Associated Immunoglobulin-like Receptor-1), also known as CD305, is a transmembrane glycoprotein acting as inhibitory receptor, which is expressed by most immune cells. The known LAIR1 ligands are the extracellular matrix collagen and C1q, the first component of the complement. LAIR1 expression varies during B-cell differentiation and has been recently demonstrated in patients with CLL. In B-cells, the in-vivo role of LAIR1 consists in inhibiting B cell receptor (BCR)-mediated signaling and in controlling kinase pathways |