Abstract
Most established human lymphocyte cell lines have properties of B cells and are EBV positive. Recently a few lymphoblastoid lines have been shown to have T cell properties (Minowada, J., et al, J.N.C.I. 49:891, 1972) (J. Kaplan, et al, Cancer Res. in press, 1974.) This report describes studies of the malignant lymphoblast cell lines CCRF-CEM and HSB-2, derived from two children with leukemia secondary to lymphosarcoma. Like normal T cells these two lines form more rosettes with sheep erythrocytes at 4° than at 37°. Rosette formation is inhibited to a greater degree by rabbit antiserum to T cell lines than by antiserum to B cell lines. The cells lack complement receptors and surface immunoglobulins. When examined for EBV capsid antigen and EBV nuclear antigen, an indicator of EBV genome, CCRF-CEM and HSB-2 are negative, whereas all B cell lines so studied are positive for EBV nuclear antigen.
These findings indicate that lines CCRF-CEM and HSB-2 are T cells and that they are EBV negative. Perhaps they possess genetic material of some other virus which, like EBV, induces both sustained in vitro cell growth and in vivo tumors. If so, the availability of these malignant T lymphocyte lines may facilitate the search for a human leukemia-lymphocyte virus.
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Kaplan, J., Shope, T., Peterson, W. et al. EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS (EBV) NEGATIVE HUMAN MALIGNANT T LYMPHOCYTE CELL LINES. Pediatr Res 8, 414 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197404000-00446
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197404000-00446