Apoptosis gene expression profile of B-CLL cells in peripheral blood and lymph nodes. (A) Relative expression of 34 apoptosis regulators was investigated in 15 PB B-CLL (▪) and 9 LN B-CLL (⊡) cells. Results of individual apoptosis regulatory genes are shown as expression relative to the total signal in the sample, with standard deviation (error bars). Nonapoptosis genes included as housekeeping genes are β₂-microglobulin (B2M), ferritin light chain (FLT), β-glucoronidase (GUS), and poly(A)-specific ribonuclease (PARN). (B) RT-MLPA data from PB and LN samples of B-CLL25. (C) The expression of Noxa, Survivin, Bcl-xL, and Mcl-1 in individual patients are depicted as dots. *indicates statistical significance (P < .001) of differences in gene expression between PB and LN B-CLL. Lines indicate averages.