Interleukin 6-dependent growth in a newly established plasmablastic lymphoma cell line and its therapeutic targets

Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is a rare, highly aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with plasma cell differentiation occurring in immune-suppressive patients, especially with AIDS. Prognosis of the disease is very poor, and standard therapy for PBL is not yet established. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is detected frequently in PBL and considered important in the pathogenesis of PBL. In this study, we report establishment and characterization of a new cell line named PBL-1 derived from a patient with AIDS-associated PBL. PBL-1 showed morphology with plasma cell differentiation and immunophenotypes of CD20-negative, and CD38, and CD138-positive. IgH/c-myc translocation was detected genetically. The cell line is harboring EBV as latency I form in its chromosome. 50-kbp length defect was identified in BART regions of EBV genome, resulting in no expression of all miR-BARTs.