Establishment of a human herpes virus-8-negative malignant effusion lymphoma cell line (STR-428) carrying concurrent translocations of BCL2 and c-MYC genes

A new cell line, STR-428 was established from ascites tumor cells of a malignant effusion lymphoma patient without human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8) infection. STR-428 cells showed an immunophenotype of mature B-cells and produced few cytokines related to lymphomatous effusion. Karyotypic and genetic analysis revealed complex translocations including t(14;18)(q32;q21) effecting IgH/BCL2 and der(8)t(3;8)(q27;q24) involving c-MYC. STR-428 represents a unique, B-cell lymphoma cell line carrying concurrent rearrangement of BCL2 and c-MYC genes with features distinct from those of HHV-8-related primary effusion lymphoma. This cell line may be a valuable tool, other than HHV-8, to investigate the pathogenesis of primary lymphomatous effusion.