Assessment of the potential malignancy of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected B cells in AIDS-related disorders.
Spontaneous lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) were established from the peripheral blood of ten human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive patients in order to investigate whether or not a progression of the cells toward a malignant state could be traced. The LCLs studied displayed no differences in their surface phenotype, karyotype, or tumorigenicity in nude mice when compared with a wide panel of control LCLs. However, four of the ten LCLs derived from HIV-seropositive patients formed colonies in agar with a cloning efficiency (0.1 to 0.9%) that was much lower than that of a control neoplastic B cell line (50%). Some sublines that were derived form the agar colonies expressed new activation markers (CD10 and Bac-1) but did not produce tumors in nude mice or display chromosomal abnormalities. These sublines might comprise cells that have progressed toward a more transformed state.
Roncella
S
S
Servizio de Immunologia Clinica, Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy.
Caretto
P
P
Forni
G
G
Cutrona
G
G
Verde
A
A
Ramarli
D
D
de Celle
P F
PF
Foá
R
R
Sessarego
M
M
Pistoia
V
V
D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D001685:Biological Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D003114:Colony-Forming Units Assay; D016207:Cytokines; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000473:pathology*; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude
D001685:Biological Factors; D016207:Cytokines