Genetically driven CD39 expression affects Sezary cell viability, IL-2 production and detects two patient subsets with distinct prognosis

Sezary Syndrome (SS) is a rare and aggressive variant of Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma. It is characterized by the co-presence of CD4+ neoplastic lymphocytes, named Sezary cells, mainly in the blood, lymph-nodes and skin where they induce chronic inflammation which in turn impairs patients’quality of life and fuels neoplastic cells. No available treatment is resolutive for SS but, immunotherapy is becoming an effective option for this lymphoma.Here, we investigated, in a large cohort of SS patients, expression and function of the immune-checkpoint molecule CD39, which degrades pro-inflammatory extracellular (e)ATP.