Identification of the Axis β-Catenin–BTK in the Dynamic Adhesion of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cells to Their Microenvironment

Abstract

In the microenvironment, cell interactions are established between different cell types to regulate their migration, survival and activation. β-Catenin is a multifunctional protein that stabilizes cell–cell interactions and regulates cell survival through its transcriptional activity. We used chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells as a cellular model to study the role of β-catenin in regulating the adhesion of tumor cells to their microenvironment, which is necessary for tumor cell survival and accumulation. When co-cultured with a stromal cell line (HS-5), a fraction of the CLL cells adhere to stromal cells in a dynamic fashion regulated by the different levels of β-catenin expression. In non-adherent cells, β-catenin is stabilized in the cytosol and translocates into the nucleus, increasing the expression of cyclin D1. In adherent cells, the level of cytosolic β-catenin is low but membrane β-catenin helps to stabilize the adhesion of CLL to stromal cells. Indeed, the overexpression of β-catenin enhances the interaction of CLL with HS-5 cells, suggesting that this protein behaves as a regulator of cell adhesion to the stromal component and of the transcriptional regulation of cell survival. Inhibitors that block the stabilization of β-catenin alter this equilibrium and effectively disrupt the support that CLL cells receive from the cross-talk with the stroma.