Rapid proliferation of B cells from adenoids in response to Epstein-Barr virus infection

EBV is a human tumor virus that is associated with different types of tumors. A unique feature of EBV is its capability to infect and immortalize human B cells both in vivo and in vitro. In cell culture, this progress is termed immortalization and infected B cells grow out to permanent, so-called lymphoblastoid cell lines. During our experiments, we observed that B lymphocytes derived from adenoids are infected efficiently by EBV and proliferate much more rapidly than any other known type of B cell. High concentrations of adhesion molecules and of CD21, the EBV receptor, present on these cells may account for this phenomenon. Adenoid B cells may therefore represent a particular subpopulation of preactivated B lymphocytes that can greatly simplify and enhance the production of lymphoblastoid cell lines for, e.g., antigen-presenting cells for gene therapeutic approaches and similar applications.