Understanding the Role of CD19 in Cancer Pathogenesis

This animation explains the role of the CD19 antigen in the primary signaling complex on the surface of B cells and the effect of overexpression of this antigen.

Transcript:

B-cell development begins in the bone marrow. Maturation of these progenitor cells coincides with the expression of specific surface receptors and antigens, one of which is a surface antigen called CD-19.

Under normal circumstances, this antigen exists exclusively in B-cells. CD-19 is a glycoprotein that consists of an extracellular N-terminus with two domains, the transmembrane domain and cytoplasmic C-terminus. CD-19 is a component of the primary signaling complex on the surface of B-cells. It is a part of pathways that function to modulate B-cell involvement in the immune response. When the B-cell binds to an antigen, CD-19 plays a role in lowering the triggering threshold for the antigen initiated pathway. Over-expression of CD-19 is characteristic in many B-cell and plasma cell malignancies, making it a target for therapies.