Expression data of CLL cells with and without NFAT2 expression

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a disorder of mature B cells. Most patients are characterized by indolent disease and an anergic phenotype of their leukemia cells which refers to a state of unresponsiveness to B cell receptor stimulation. Using the E-TCL1 mouse model, we show that B cell-specific ablation of NFAT2 leads to the loss of the anergic phenotype culminating in a significantly compromised life expectancy and histological transformation to aggressive disease. We further define a gene expression signature of anergic CLL cells consisting of several NFAT2-dependant genes employing microarray technology.

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Märklin M, Heitmann JS, Fuchs AR, Truckenmüller FM, Gutknecht M, Bugl S, Saur SJ, Lazarus J, Kohlhofer U, Quintanilla-Martinez L, Rammensee HG, Salih HR, Kopp HG, Haap M, Kirschniak A, Kanz L, Rao A, Wirths S, Müller MR