CD20‐mediated apoptosis: signalling through lipid rafts

Summary CD20 is an effective target for therapeutic B‐cell depletion with monoclonal antibodies. One proposed mechanism of action is direct cytotoxicity mediated via tyrosine kinase‐dependent signalling pathways activated upon CD20 cross‐linking. The association of CD20 with membrane microdomains known as lipid rafts, enriched in src‐family tyrosine kinases and other signalling effectors, suggests an indirect mechanism of anti‐CD20‐induced apoptosis in which activation of src‐family kinases occurs as a consequence of lipid raft clustering.