Putative core cellular pathways affected by significantly mutated genes in CLL. Blue-genes identified from CLL series by Wang et al,⁶  Puente et al,⁸  and Quesada et al⁹  (n = 4 to 105 samples); orange-genes identified by Landau et al (n = 160 subjects)¹² ; black-genes affected by 262 subjects²³ ; yellow gene mutations identified in relationship to drug resistance.^43,44  Several of the affected pathways likely serve as an important bridge with the microenvironment, which is of particular importance in CLL (crucial actors of the CLL microenvironment are represented by NLCs, MSCs, and T cells. NLCs, nurse-like cells; NF-κB, nuclear factor-κB; MSCs, marrow stroma cells; mTOR, mammalian target of rapamycin; TLR, toll-like receptor.