The Proliferation of Infectious Mononucleosis Lymphocytes in vitro

Abstract

The proliferation of infectious mononucleosis lymphocytes in vitro was studied by autoradiographic and quantitative cytochemical techniques. A small number of these cells divided during a 5 hr. period; this group passed through the G2 period in approximately 1 hr. without arrest in mitosis. Over a 5 hr. period there was a marked imbalance between the flux of cells in S and the flux into M, the former being far higher than would have been expected for a system in steady state. After 5 hr. in culture, the cells which were synthesising DNA at the time the blood was taken, had either completed DNA synthesis, arrested in S, or were still synthesising DNA. A marked induction of the initiation DNA synthesis occured when the cells were cultured in vitro. The imbalance of the flux rates observed was explained by the combination of the accelerated entry into S and the arrest of cells in S. The relation between the evidence of cell kinetics obtained from the analysis of the cultures to the kinetics in vivo is discussed.