Stromal cells in lymph nodes attract B-lymphoma cells via production of stromal cell-derived factor-1

Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) is a chemokine produced by bone marrow stromal cells which plays an important role in B-lymphopoiesis and the homing of hematopoietic stem cells to the bone marrow. In the present study, we investigated the role of SDF-1 and its receptor, CXCR4, in the chemotactic interaction between non-Hodgkin B-lymphoma cells and lymph node stromal cells. SDF-1 mRNA was abundantly expressed in stromal cells isolated from the lymph nodes of patients with malignant lymphoma. All B-lymphoma cells freshly isolated from these patients and most laboratory B-lymphoma cell lines, including follicular, diffuse large, and Burkitt's lymphoma cells, expressed surface CXCR4 and migrated in the presence of recombinant human SDF-1 alpha. Chemotaxis assays revealed that CXCR4-positive (but not CXCR4-negative) B-lymphoma cells migrated towards lymph node stromal cells, and this migration was almost completely inhibited by the addition of anti-CXCR4 monoclonal antibody to the lymphoma cells or of anti-SDF-1 neutralizing antibody to the culture supernatant of the stromal cells. Down-regulation of surface CXCR4 was detected in B-lymphoma cells which migrated towards the stromal cells but not in those which showed no migratory response. In addition, contact between the lymphoma cells and the stromal cells resulted in down-regulation of surface CXCR4 on the lymphoma cells. These data strongly suggest that SDF-1/CXCR4 is the main chemokine system involved in the chemotactic interaction between B-lymphoma cells and lymph node stromal cells.