Absence of biologically important Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus gene products and virus-specific cellular immune responses in multiple myeloma.
Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) has been associated with several diseases, but the association between KSHV and multiple myeloma (MM) remains controversial. To address this issue, we studied patients with MM for the presence of viral RNA transcripts as well as KSHV-specific cellular immune responses. Highly sensitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assays for detection of viral transcripts of KSHV open reading frame (ORF) 26, ORF72, and ORF74 did not detect viral gene transcripts in long-term cultures of bone marrow stromal cells from 23 patients with MM. Moreover, sensitive assays for KSHV ORF65-specific and ORF73-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) activity that readily and routinely detect CTLs specific for ORF65 and ORF73 in patients positive for human immunodeficiency virus and KSHV did not show any specific responses in 16 patients with MM, despite the presence of positive Epstein-Barr virus-specific CTLs in all cases. These data therefore do not show a biologically important association between ongoing KSHV infection and MM.
Brander
Christian
C
Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Raje
Noopur
N
O'Connor
Paula G
PG
Davies
Faith
F
Davis
Jennifer
J
Chauhan
Darminder
D
Hideshima
Teru
T
Martin
Jeff
J
Osmond
Dennis
D
Kedes
Dean H
DH
Walker
Bruce D
BD
Scadden
David T
DT
Anderson
Kenneth C
KC
D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D003601:Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017154:Stromal Cells; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral