INTEGRIN RECEPTORS AND HAIRY-CELL LEUKEMIA

The ability of a cell to recognise and specifically localise within an appropriate tissue environment is essential to the proliferation and survival of that cell. The integrin family of cell-surface adhesion-re ceptors are essential to such tissue localisation, allowing a migratin g cell to specifically recognise, localise within-, and respond to- th e cellular or extracellular matrix ligands that characterise a given t issue. We have have investigated how the expression and activity of in tegrin receptors underlies the consistent and unusual tissue distribut ion of the malignant B lymphocytes of hairy cell leukaemia (HCL). In t his report we review our published work in this area. Our findings are then discussed within the context of current knowledge of integrin re ceptors and their ligands, and in relation to the clinical features of HCL.