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Updated: Aug 13, 2026
Establishment of Epstein-Barr Virus Growth-transformed Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines
Published on: November 8, 2011
Primary effusion lymphoma cell lines harbouring human herpesvirus type-8
A Carbone1, A M Cilia, A Gloghini
1Division of Pathology, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Aviano, Italy. acarbone@ets.it
Insights
Three novel cell lines were established from primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), a cancer linked to HHV-8 infection in HIV patients. These cell lines aid in understanding PEL
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Virology
- Immunology
Background:
- Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a distinct lymphoma associated with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection.
- PEL predominantly affects immunodeficient individuals, particularly HIV-positive men, and manifests as effusions in body cavities.
- Understanding PEL pathogenesis and histogenesis is crucial for developing targeted therapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish and characterize novel cell lines from primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) patients.
- To represent different virologic variants of PEL, including HHV-8+ EBV+ and HHV-8+ EBV- forms.
- To facilitate research into PEL pathogenesis, histogenesis, and molecular characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Establishment of three PEL cell lines (CRO-AP/2, CRO-AP/3, CRO-AP/5) from HIV-positive homosexual men with PEL.
- Morphological and phenotypic characterization of the established cell lines.
- Analysis of virologic status (HHV-8 and EBV co-infection) and immunoglobulin gene rearrangement to confirm B-cell lineage.
Main Results:
- Successfully established three PEL cell lines (CRO-AP/2, CRO-AP/3, CRO-AP/5) representative of PEL.
- Cell lines exhibit typical PEL morphology (immunoblastic/anaplastic) and an indeterminate (non B-cell, non T-cell) phenotype, confirmed as B-cell origin by gene rearrangement.
- Identified recurrent chromosomal abnormalities in PEL and characterized the cell lines as originating from post-germinal center, pre-terminally differentiated B-cells.
Conclusions:
- The established PEL cell lines provide valuable tools for studying PEL pathogenesis and histogenesis.
- These cell lines represent both virologic variants of PEL, enabling comparative research.
- Findings contribute to defining PEL as a lymphoma of a specific B-cell differentiation stage.
Abstract:
Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a novel lymphoma entity consistently infected by HHV-8 that occurs predominantly in immunodeficient patients and is characterized by liquid growth in the serous body cavities. In order to facilitate the understanding of PEL pathogenesis and histogenesis, we have established three PEL cell lines termed CRO-AP/2, CRO-AP/3 and CRO-AP/5. All cell lines have been derived from HIV positive homosexual men affected by PEL with (in the case of CRO-AP/2 and CRO-AP/5) or without (in the case of CRO-AP/3) a previous history of Kaposi's sarcoma. The cell lines are representative of both virologic variants of PEL, i.e. HHV-8+ EBV+ PEL (CRO-AP/2 and CRO-AP/5) and HHV-8+ EBV- PEL (CRO-AP/3). Morphologic and phenotypic features of CRO-AP/2, CRO-AP/3 and CRO-AP/5 are typical of PEL, and include morphology bridging immunoblastic and anaplastic features as well as an indeterminate (non B- non T-cell) phenotype. The B-cell nature of the cell lines is documented by the presence of rearranged immunoglobulin genes. The detailed analysis of the molecular and phenotypic features of CRO-AP/2, CRO-AP/3 and CRO-AP/5 has allowed the identification of recurrent chromosomal abnormalities of PEL and has contributed to the definition of PEL as a lymphoma of post-germinal center, pre-terminally differentiated B-cells.
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