DENDRITIC CELLS CULTURED FROM MONONUCLEAR-CELLS AND CD34 CELLS IN MYELOMA DO NOT HARBOR HUMAN-HERPESVIRUS-8

Dendritic cells (DC) are antigen-presenting cells with the potential t o be a powerful adjuvant in the immunotherapy of haematological malign ancy, including myeloma. Recently, human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infecti on of dendritic cells in the long-term bone marrow stromal cultures of patients with myeloma has been reported. This finding is of great pot ential importance regarding oncogenesis in myeloma in addition to havi ng significant implications for the use of DC in the immunotherapy of this disease. Therefore DC generated from mobilized blood mononuclear cells (MO-DC) and purified CD34(+) cells (CD34-DC) of myeloma patients were examined for the presence of HHV-8 using a sensitive PCR techniq ue. HHV-8 was not demonstrated in MO-DC or CD34-DC and we conclude tha t these cells remain a suitable vehicle for investigation in the immun otherapy of myeloma.