Assessment of CXCL13 plasma level in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and its relation to other prognostic markers

Abstract

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a mature B-cell malignancy where there is a progressive accumulation of leukemic cells with a distinctive immunophenotype as consequence to defective apoptosis and survival signals derived from the microenvironment. CXC chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) chemokines have recently emerged as crucial orchestrators for lymphocyte trafficking and activation. These secreted polypeptides exert their function by binding to specific cell surface receptors and can be divided into two categories: homeostatic and inflammatory. The CXCL13 is an efficacious attractant of naive B-cells in vitro and has been shown to be produced constitutively by stromal cells in lymphoid follicles of human lymph nodes. The CXCL13-CXCR5 axis has been previously shown to contribute to the progression of several malignancies and possibly CLL relapse. The aim of this study to compare the plasma level of CXCL13 in a patient with CLL with healthy normal control and to correlate the plasma level of CXCL13 to beta-2 microglobulin (β2 M) and other hematological parameters in CLL. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 CLL patients who were newly diagnosed. A total of 30 healthy individuals were included in this study as a control group. Measurement of plasma CXCL13 and beta-2 microglobulin levels was done by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Fifty CLL patients were studied and compared with thirty control group of healthy individuals. The mean level of CXCL13 was 67.48 pg/ml in CLL patients while it was 69.2 pg/ml in control, so it is statistically not significant (P = 0.363). The mean level of β2 M was 50.89 ug/ml in CLL patients while it was 50.59 ug/ml in control, so it is statistically not significant (P = 0.702). The percentage of stage A of CLL patients was 22.44%, stage B was18.36%, and stage C was 10.20%. The percentages of lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, and hepatomegaly were 66%, 32%, and 16%, respectively. The mean of malignant cell percentage in stage A was 55.18%; in stage B, it was 69.28%; and in stage C, it was 81%, so it is statistically significant (P < 0.001). CXCL13 shows no statistically significant between Cd38+ and CD38− and P value was 0.950. There was no correlation in level of CXCL13 between the CLL group and the control group. There was no correlation in level of CXCL13 and β2 M in the CLL group.