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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Immunoglobulin Gene Sequence Analysis In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: From Patient Material To Sequence Interpretation
Published on: November 26, 2018
B-cell receptor epitope recognition correlates with the clinical course of chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Mascha Binder1, Fabian Müller, Antje Jackst
1Department of Oncology and Hematology, Hubertus Wald Cancer Center, University Medical Center, Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Background:
B-cell receptors (BCRs) and their recognition of specific epitopes may play a pivotal role in the development and progression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In this study, the authors set up a model system to explore epitope reactivity and its clinical relevance in CLL.
Methods:
Epitope-mimicking peptides were selected from phage display libraries on 6 CLL BCRs from randomly chosen patients. The binding of the 6 index epitope mimics was evaluated in a set of 100 unrelated CLL samples. Epitope recognition patterns were correlated with the clinical course of the disease.
Results:
Surprisingly, all CLL samples recognized 1 or several index epitopes, and some revealed marked polyreactivity. Patients with CLL who expressed BCRs that reacted with ≥5 epitope mimics had a significantly worse clinical course than less polyreactive patients (median time to first treatment, 24 months vs 102 months). This effect was independent of otherwise known prognostic markers.
Conclusions:
The authors introduced a system with which to model epitope reactivity of CLL BCRs without previous knowledge of potential antigens. The findings indicated that a polyreactive epitope recognition pattern may be a determinant of an aggressive clinical course in this disease. This further emphasizes the functional and prognostic relevance of BCR epitope recognition in CLL.
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