Anti-apoptosis function of TNF-alpha in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: lessons from Crohn's disease and the therapeutic potential of bupropion to lower TNF-alpha.

Crohn's disease and B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) share a common link in their pathologic mechanisms. Lymphocytes in both diseases fail to undergo apoptosis and die properly. That failure is partly due to increased signaling by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and their respective pathologies directly follow from this apoptosis failure. Bupropion is a commonly used generic antidepressant in clinical use for over a decade, and early evidence indicates it lowers TNF levels. This paper suggests the use of bupropion in CLL to lower TNF levels, which may thereby slow CLL disease course.