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Updated: Oct 7, 2026
Establishment of Epstein-Barr Virus Growth-transformed Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines
Published on: November 8, 2011
Isolation of transforming Epstein-Barr virus from plasma of HTLV-III/LAV-infected patients
Fresh plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes were obtained from 11 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). All of these patients were seropositive for antibodies to HTLV-III/LAV and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Plasma and uncultured peripheral blood leukocytes from these patients were tested for the presence of infectious EBV and membrane antigen (EBV-MA). Transforming EBV was isolated from the cell-free plasma of 4 patients with AIDS exhibiting EBV-MA in uncultured cells. No virus was detected in plasma from the healthy donors or from the remaining AIDS patients. No neutralizing antibody to EBV was detected in the 4 patients whose plasma contained EBV. In contrast, neutralizing antibody was present in the plasma of EBV-seropositive healthy donors and in 7 other patients with AIDS. One of the AIDS patients whose plasma contained EBV recently developed Burkitt's-type lymphoma. The production of transforming EBV could be induced either directly or indirectly by HTLV-III/LAV infection, and also could be involved in the frequently observed B cell malignancy associated with AIDS.
Fresh plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes were obtained from 11 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). All of these patients were seropositive for antibodies to HTLV-III/LAV and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Plasma and uncultured peripheral blood leukocytes from these patients were tested for the presence of infectious EBV and membrane antigen (EBV-MA). Transforming EBV was isolated from the cell-free plasma of 4 patients with AIDS exhibiting EBV-MA in uncultured cells. No virus was detected in plasma from the healthy donors or from the remaining AIDS patients. No neutralizing antibody to EBV was detected in the 4 patients whose plasma contained EBV. In contrast, neutralizing antibody was present in the plasma of EBV-seropositive healthy donors and in 7 other patients with AIDS. One of the AIDS patients whose plasma contained EBV recently developed Burkitt's-type lymphoma. The production of transforming EBV could be induced either directly or indirectly by HTLV-III/LAV infection, and also could be involved in the frequently observed B cell malignancy associated with AIDS.
