B7-2–positive myeloma: incidence, clinical characteristics, prognostic significance, and implications for tumor immunotherapy

Abstract Deficiencies in B7:CD28 costimulation are considered to be one of the major causes of the failure to generate a tumor-specific immune response. Up-regulating the expression of the B7 molecules on malignant B cells has been shown to stimulate cytotoxic T cells. Plasma cells from patients with myeloma express a tumor-specific idiotype but lack CD80 (B7-1) and have a variable expression of CD86 (B7-2). This study has identified the incidence and clinical significance of high CD86 expression on plasma cells at diagnosis and studied the ability of trimeric human CD40 ligand (huCD40LT) to up-regulate the expression of the B7 family on malignant plasma cells. CD86 expression on plasma cells was increased in 54% of the patients studied at diagnosis (n = 35) and was associated with a significantly shorter survival (median, 28 versus 57 months; χ2 = 4.6;P = .03) and a higher tumor load (patients with more than 50% bone marrow plasma cells, 47% versus 6%; χ2 = 7.2; P = .005). CD86 expression was highest on immature and primitive plasma cells (CD38++, CD45+) of both patients and controls and was associated with a CD40+, CD20+, CD19−, CD138+ phenotype. The shortened survival was associated with high CD86 only on mature (CD38++, CD45−) plasma cells (χ2 = 7.6; P = .006). There was no significant correlation between high CD86 and other known prognostic markers, including serum β2-microglobulin, serum thymidine kinase, and labeling index. The addition of huCD40LT to short-term cultures up-regulated both CD80 and CD86 expression on B cells (CD19+) and CD80 on plasma cells (CD38++), but did not up-regulate CD86 expression on plasma cells. Thus, B7-2–positive myeloma consists of a subgroup of patients with a relatively poor prognosis, and CD40LT may be useful in immunotherapy protocols because it up-regulates CD80 expression on malignant plasma cells without inducing B7-2–positive myeloma.