Cell growth in aggregates determines gene expression, proliferation, survival, chemoresistance, and sensitivity to immune effectors in follicular lymphoma.

Lymphomas grow as dense aggregates in patients, but whether this spatial organization affects lymphoma cell biology is unknown. We grew follicular lymphoma (FL) cells in vitro as multicellular aggregates of lymphoma cells to investigate this question. Gene expression analysis revealed that 612 genes were differentially expressed when cells grew in multicellular aggregates of lymphoma cells rather than in suspension.