The novel multiple myeloma (MM) cell line MOLP-8 carrying the t(11;14) (q13;q32) was established from the peripheral blood of a 52-year-old Japanese male patient with Bence-Jones delta/lambda type MM (stage IIIA with hyperammonemia). The growth of MOLP-8 cells is constitutively independent of exogenous growth factors or feeder cells. MOLP-8 cells grow mainly as free floating single cells and slightly adherent on the bottom of the plastic culture flask. Wright-Giemsa-stained MOLP-8 cells show the typical plasma cell morphology with abundant cytoplasm, heterogeneous cell size and one to three nuclei. The immunoprofile of MOLP-8 corresponds to that seen typically in primary MM cells: positive for cytoplasmic immunoglobulin (Ig) delta/lambda chains, CD10, CD29, CD38, CD40, CD44, CD49b, CD49d, CD54, CD56, CD58, CD71, CD138 and PCA-1; the cells were negative for surface Igs and various other B-cell, T-cell and myelomonocyte-associated immunomarkers. CD28 became positive after co-culture of MOLP-8 cells with bone marrow adherent stromal (BST) feeder cells for a week. About 30% of MOLP-8 cells adhered strongly to the BST cells, but the cellular adhesion was clearly inhibited by addition of either anti-CD29 or anti-CD106 monoclonal antibody, suggesting a specific cellular adhesion through alpha4beta1-integrin-VCAM-1 interaction. The novel MOLP-8 cell line together with the present myeloma cell lines will present useful model systems in the investigation of the biology of MM.