Nicholas Chiorazzi, M.D. The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

BIOLOGY

Characterization of the Proliferating Compartment in B-CLL Patients and in Healthy Aging Subjects

Update:

Cell growth is a dominant feature of all cancers. Using a safe, non-radioactive technique (heavy water ingestion) that labels the DNA of doubling cells, we previously determined that the birth and death of B-CLL cells occur at a much higher level than once realized.

Utilizing B-CLL cells from 25 patients who have consumed heavy water, we have confirmed that the birth of the leukemic cells from patients with B-CLL can be measured safely and conveniently, and that these rates vary among patients.

We have now also defined the specific cells in the blood of B-CLL patients that have incorporated the most heavy water, indicating that these are the cells that have divided during the study period. These cells are marked by the simultaneous expression on their surface membranes of a high density of the molecule CD5, along with the expression of the molecules CD38.

These cells may be important targets for therapy, since they likely give rise to the bulk of the leukemia cells in B-CLL