Human herpesvirus 8 DNA sequences are present in bone marrow from HIV-negative patients with lymphoproliferative disorders and from healthy donors

Bone marrow (BM) from patients affected by multiple myeloma (MM), exhibiting monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) or with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) as well as from healthy donors were investigated for the presence of human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) DNA sequences. ORF 26 sequences were detected in 36-56% of the patients and in 29% of the controls. In a few cases, two other HHV-8 DNA sequences were also detected. These observations indicate that the presence of the HHV-8 genome in BM is relatively common in different groups of patients as well as in healthy individuals and do not support an alleged role for HHV-8 in MM.