Epstein-Barr Virus Antigens, Marker Chromosome, and Interferon Production in Clones Derived From Cultured Burkitt Tumor Cells2

Abstract

Clones were obtained from singly seeded lymphoblastoid cells of the EB-2 line of Burkitt's lymphoma origin grown for several days and suspended in medium containing antibodies to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Of the 23 sublines established at a cloning efficiency of over 40%, none differed significantly from the parent culture. They all revealed the C-group marker chromosome (presumably #10), yielded EBV-specific immunofluorescence in 0.1–1% of the cells, and produced small amounts of interferon. Since all clones harbored EBV, despite the fact that the parent culture contained <1% EBV antigen-containing cells, probably the viral genome was present in all cells but prevented from full expression in most of them.