CLL cells are moved by the MARCKS brothers

摘要

In this issue of Blood, Beckmann et al(1) compare a proteomic screen of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells isolated from patients with mutated immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable region (IGHV) (M-CLL) to unmutated IGHV (UM-CLL). Among differentially expressed proteins, they found myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate (MARCKS) to be highly expressed in M-CLL patients, and low in patients with UM-CLL. They convincingly link the expression and phosphorylation of MARCKS to CLL cell migration (ie, key CLL signaling pathways, especially CXCR4 and B-cell receptor BCR signaling). They also corroborate the findings in samples from patients receiving treatment with the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor acalabrutinib.