CXCL12 and B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Consistent with previous studies which revealed a role for BTK in mediating signal transduction downstream of chemokine receptors in normal B cells [44, 45], ibrutinib inhibited migration of CLL cells towards CXCL12/CXCL13 and inhibited AKT/ERK phosphorylation following stimulation with anti-IgM, CXCL12 or CXCL13.