Epstein-barr virus-induced transformation of human leukocytes after cell fractionation

✍ Scribed by Ulrich Schneider; Harald Zur Hausen

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1975
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 508 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.2910150108

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The efficiency of transformation of human lymphocytes after infection with Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) was determined in fractionated and non‐fractionated preparations derived from 16 human cord blood samples and two blood samples from adult donors. The transformation efficiency of macrophage‐depleted leukocytes was consistently lower as compared to non‐fractionated leukocytes. Additional depletion of B‐cells resulted in a further decrease. Reduction of T‐cells, however, did not influence significantly the transformation rate. In non‐fractionated leukocyte cultures, as well as in macrophage‐depleted and B‐cell enriched cultures, colonies of transformed cells were regularly observed within the first week of cultivation. All cell lines established after EBV‐infection revealed membrane‐bound immunoglobulin. Reconstitution of macrophage‐depleted, B‐cell enriched or B‐cell depleted cultures with autologous macrophages resulted in an increase of the transformation efficiency up to the values of non‐fractionated leukocyte preparations. Addition of heterologous human embryonic lung fibroblasts resulted in a similar increase. The results support the interpretation that EBV transforms only those cells of the hematopoetic system which are derived from the bone‐marrow entity. The transformation efficiency is considerably increased by co‐cultivation of lymphocytes with macrophages and heterologous human fibroblasts which seem to exert a feeder‐layer effect by enhancing survival of lymphocytes in vitro.