Immunoregulatory mechanisms in multiple myeloma

This article reviews studies of immunoregulation of human myeloma including phenotypic and functional abnormalities in immune effector cells. Direct and indirect evidence for anti-idiotypic T and B cell response is presented and the possibility of an autoregulatory circuit operative in myeloma is discussed. It is becoming increasingly clear that some of the immunologic changes are host responses to the malignant plasma cell, clone and monoclonal immunoglobulin and are recognized as mechanisms modulating growth and differentiation of myeloma cells. The therapeutic applications of this information are considered.