Role of the splenic microenvironment in chronic lymphocytic leukemia development in E mu-TCL1 transgenic mice

The chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) microenvironment has been receiving an increasing amount of attention, but there is currently limited data surrounding how the microenvironment affects initial development of CLL. We determined that the spleen is the initial site of CLL growth through monitoring of transgenic E mu-TCL1 mice that develop CLL. Subsequently, we isolated stromal cells from the spleens of E mu-TCL1 mice (EMST cells) that induce CLL cell division in vitro. Both cell-cell contact and soluble factors were involved in EMST-induced CLL cell division. These stromal cells are present in significantly larger numbers in the spleen than other lymphoid organs. We also noted that splenectomy delayed CLL development in E mu-TCL1 mice and completely prevented CLL development in adoptive transfer mice. Our findings will allow future studies surrounding the CLL microenvironment to focus upon the splenic stromal cells.