Discovering new links between signalling pathways and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
The B-cell receptor (BCR) is a protein that plays an essential role in the development and progression of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), as evidenced by the efficacy of drugs that block BCR signalling, but the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. The discovery that the BCR is capable of self-binding and signalling in the absence of extrinsic antigens has highlighted a new mechanism of engagement and signalling associated with this protein. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the BCRES-CLL project aims to define the selectivity of the two BCR signalling mechanisms and their association with specific clinical and biological outcomes. The project’s objectives include assessing the characteristics of BCR engagement linked to the clinical presentation of CLL, the discovery and characterisation of normal B cells expressing BCRs of a type similar to those found in CLL, and the identification of the genes and pathways associated with BCR engagement and the mechanisms of CLL progression.