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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Establishment of Epstein-Barr Virus Growth-transformed Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines
Published on: November 8, 2011
B cells under influence: transformation of B cells by Epstein-Barr virus
1Institute for Genetics, Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Cologne, 50931 Cologne, Germany. ralf.kuppers@uni-koeln.de
Abstract:
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is an extremely successful virus, infecting more than 90% of the human population worldwide. After primary infection, the virus persists for the life of the host, usually as a harmless passenger residing in B cells. However, EBV can transform B cells, which can result in the development of malignant lymphomas. Intriguingly, the three main types of EBV-associated B-cell lymphoma - that is, Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and post-transplant lymphomas - seem to derive from germinal-centre B cells or atypical survivors of the germinal-centre reaction in most, if not all, cases, indicating that EBV-infected germinal-centre B cells are at particular risk for malignant transformation.
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