The cellular interferon regulatory factor-4 (IRF-4), which is a member of IRF family, is involved in the development of multiple myeloma and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-mediated transformation of B lymphocytes.
The objective of this study was to investigate expression of the interferon regulatory factor family (IRF1-9) and the potential role of DNA methylation in silencing IRF genes in MM cell lines and purified MM cells from patients.
Consistent expression of both the viral homologues of IRF and IL-8R in myeloma suggests a possible role for these transforming viral genes in the pathogenesis of this disease.