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Progenitor and pre‐B lymphocytes transformed by epstein‐barr virus
Author(s) -
Ernberg Ingemar,
Falk Kerstin,
Hansson Mona
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.2910390212
Subject(s) - biology , progenitor cell , b cell , antibody , microbiology and biotechnology , cell culture , cell , epstein–barr virus , virus , monoclonal antibody , immunofluorescence , phenotype , virology , immunology , stem cell , genetics , gene
By rosetting with SRBC coupled to rabbit‐anti‐human IgM, the surface IgM‐negative cells of human fetal bone marrow were enriched, and subsequently infected and transformed by Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV). Single clones of the transformed cells were obtained. Ninety percent of the resulting cell clones were surface‐immunoglobulin‐negative, and of 8 clones which were further studied, 5 lacked intracellular, cytoplasmic Ig as measured by immunofluorescence. Control cell clones derived from the same material without pre‐selection expressed surface Ig and also secreted Ig. Utilization of a panel of B‐cell‐specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) showed no difference between the cell clones expressing surface Ig and those that did not. The progenitor B‐cell lines did not show a phenotype resembling that of cell lines derived from B‐cell malignancies, such as high agarose clonability. In spite of their immature Ig‐phenotype, these clones showed rearrangement of at least one heavy chain Ig‐allele. Efforts to induce differentiation in these clones were unsuccessful. These clones may represent progenitor B cells, or B cells with faulty heavy‐chain rearrangement. EBV can apparently be used as a tool to derive cell lines representing different levels of B‐cell differentiation, and can also transform immature B cells, which may be useful in the analysis of B‐cell differentiation.