CD180 Overexpression in Follicular Lymphoma

Background:Altered Toll-like receptor (TLR) expression levels and/or mutations in its signaling pathway (such as MyD88 mutation) contribute to the pathogenesis of lymphoproliferative disorders (LPD). CD180 is an orphan member of the TLR family that modulates the signaling of several TLRs, but only limited studies have evaluated its expression by flow cytometry (FCM) in LPD. Methods: Using a multiparameter FCM approach, biologists have assessed CD180 mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) in lymph nodes (LNs) and peripheral blood (PB) samples obtained from patients with follicular lymphoma (FL; LN/PB, n=44/n=15), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL, n=26/n=21), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL, n=13/n=17), and marginal zone lymphoma (MZL, n=16/n=12). Specimens from non-tumoral PB and LN (n=8/n=12) were used as controls.