Levels of Epstein-Barr virus DNA in lymphoblastoid cell lines are correlated with frequencies of spontaneous lytic growth but not with levels of expression of EBNA-1, EBNA-2, or latent membrane protein.
The process of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-induced transformation of human B lymphocytes results in a cell line that is a mixture of latently and lytically infected cells, with the lytic cells composing roughly 5% to less than 0.0001% of the overall population. A set of nine normal lymphoblastoid cell lines that span a 100- to 200-fold range in average EBV DNA content were studied, and the frequency with which these cells entered a lytic phase of viral growth correlated with their EBV DNA copy number (as a population average). However, neither factor correlated with the levels of expression of transcript for the viral genes EBNA-1, EBNA-2, and latent membrane protein, nor did they correlate with the levels of EBNA-2 protein and latent membrane protein. The rate at which a cell line enters into lytic growth spontaneously is therefore not dependent on the overall steady-state levels of expression of these latent-phase genes.
Metzenberg
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McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706.
D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D002460:Cell Line; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D019309:Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens; D015870:Gene Expression; D005814:Genes, Viral; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; C037662:EBV-associated membrane antigen, Epstein-Barr virus; D019309:Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins