Dependency of CLL Cell Survival on Direct Physical Interaction with Bone Marrow Stromal Cells In Vitro Is Largely Outweighed by Secretion of Soluble Factors with Time In Culture

Abstract 1365

The major pathophysiology feature of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells is their extended life span due to a pronounced resistance towards apoptotic stimuli in vivo. Despite this, CLL cells die within a few days when isolated from their natural microenvironment and are placed under cell culture conditions. That is why the bone marrow microenvironment has been ascribed an essential role in maintenance of the apoptotic resistance of the CLL cell. Thereby both, the physical interaction between bone marrow stromal cells and CLL cells and the secretion of soluble factors have been described to be essentially involved. We analysed the survival capacity of CLL cells in monoculture and in coculture with the bone marrow-derived stromal cell line HS5 with and without physical separation using transwells for up to 7 days by flow cytometric determination of Annexin-V/PI status. As expected, in vitro CLL cell survival was significantly reduced when physical contact between CLL cells and bone marrow stromal cells was prevented. Interestingly, this was only the case for short term cultivation for up to three days. With time under culture conditions CLL cell survival became less dependent on direct physical contact with the HS5 feederlayer, suggesting the secretion of soluble factors to compensate for the loss of pro-survival signals obtained from direct cell-cell interactions over time. This was further supported by the fact of reduced survival support for CLL cells when HS5 proliferation, hence production and secretion of soluble factors, was prevented by mitomycin treatment or formaldehyde fixation. The use of an expanded human Cytokine Antibody Array (Affymetrix), which analyses the presence of the most common 36 cytokine proteins, might offer information about the composition of soluble factors present in the supernatant which are essential for CLL cell survival in vitro. In conclusion, while direct cell-cell contact between CLL cells and bone marrow stromal cells provides an immediate protection against in vitro apoptosis of CLL cells, the secretion of soluble factors, most likely by both, CLL and bone marrow stormal cells, leads to the creation of an in vitro environment which can to a certain extent compensate for the loss of prosurvival signals obtained by direct physical interactions.