Recently, Soulier et all reported in Blood the detection of Kaposi sarcoma herpes virus like (KSHV)(also called human herpesvirus type 8)'. 3 DNA sequences in 14 of 14 cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD), and in 7 of 17 MCD occurring in HIV-patients. They suggested that KSVH could play a role in the pathogenesis of MCD, an angio follicular lymphoid proliferation4 often associated with KS (especially in HIV-infected patient^).“^ We recently searched for such viral sequences in lymphoproliferative disorders including multicentric and localized Castleman's diseases occurring in non-HIV-infected patients, and MCD (also called follicular hyperplasia of type IB6) in HIV+ patients. In addition, cases of the persistant adenopathy syndrome occurring in HIV-infected patients with follicular hyperplasia and variable degree of folliculolysis (Follicular Hyperplasia IA type6) and cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) were studied including follicular in HIV-patients or Burkitt's type in HIV-infected patients (Table 1). DNA was extracted from 43 cryopreserved tumor samples, mostly lymph nodes from 40 patients (Table I). To detect KSHV sequences, we used two different sets of primers.'The first (labeled 81 to 82) amplified 233 bp whereas the second (84 to 85) corresponded to a fragment of 671 bp. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed as described'on 1 to 2 pg of DNA with an initial denaturation step at 94 C and then 35 cycles for 1 minute at WC, 1 minute at 55" C, and 2 minutes at 72 C. After electrophoresis, the PCR products were transferred to a nylon membrane and hybridized with two different P32 radiolabeled oligonucleotides (83 and 86) specific for the two amplified KSHV PCR products. DNA extracted from 2 KS cutaneous tumors or from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of HlV seronegative blood donors were used for PCR as positive and negative controls respectively. All DNA samples were also amplified by PCR for human P-globin sequences to show the integrity of the DNA specimen. KSHV DNA sequences were detected in only one of the six Castleman's disease lymph node biopsies studied and occurring in HIV seronegative persons. This KSHV case was a typical plasma cell type MCD occurring in a 57-year-old woman from Mauritania who was also diagnosed with a renal amyloidosis. None of these 6 cases had KS. In contrast, 3 cases out of 4 MCD cases occurring in HIV-infected patients contained KSHV sequences in the lymph nodes. Furthermore, such sequences were also detected in the PBMC DNA of one of these patients. It is worth noting that these 3 KSHV'patients (all homosexual) had developed KS. However, in these 3