The BCR binds antigen for processing and subsequent presentation on MHC II molecules. Polyvalent antigen induces BCR clustering and targeting to endocytic processing compartments, which are also accessed by Ii-MHC II. Here, we report that clustered BCR is able to team up with Ii-MHC II already at the plasma membrane of mouse B-lymphocytes. Colocalization of BCR and Ii-MHC II on the cell surface...

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder characterized at the molecular level by the expression of Bcr-Abl, a chimeric protein with deregulated tyrosine kinase activity. The protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is up-regulated in Bcr-Abl-expressing cells, suggesting a regulatory link between the two proteins. To investigate the interplay between these two proteins,...

Targeting BCR/ABL with Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is a proven concept for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) leukemias but the "gatekeeper" mutation T315I confers resistance against all approved TKIs, with the only exception of ponatinib, a multi-targeted kinase inhibitor. Besides resistance to TKIs, T315I also confers additional features to the leukemogenic potentia...

Isolated hypomethylated sites exist in the major breakpoint cluster region (M-bcr) where most Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) breakpoints are located. Twenty of 50 (40%) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients were found to have aberrant hypermethylation of these sites on the rearranged M-bcr when compared with control marrows. The aberrancy correlated strongly with M-bcr breakpoint location; 19 o...

How the B-cell antigen receptor (BCR) is activated upon interaction with its cognate antigen or with anti-BCR antibodies is not fully understood. We have recently shown that B-cell activation is accompanied by the opening of the pre-organized BCR oligomers, an observation that strengthens the role of receptor reorganization in signalling. We have now analysed the BCR oligomer opening and signal...

PURPOSE We evaluated the biochemical recurrence (BCR) of prostate cancer patients treated by radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiotherapy (RT). MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients who underwent RP or RT as primary definitive treatment from 2007 were enrolled for this study. They were divided into two groups; the low-intermediate risk group and the high risk group according to the National Comprehens...

In Ph(+) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), the constitutively active Bcr-Abl kinase leads to the up-regulation and activation of multiple genes, which may subsequently result in the expression of leukemia-associated antigens. In this study, we investigated the immunogenicity of Bcr-Abl-regulated antigens by stimulating CD8(+) T lymphocytes with autologous dendritic cells transfected with RNA codi...