Chromosome Lesions Induced in a Human Hematopoietic Cell Line by Infection with Epstein-Barr Virus 1

Abstract

Summary

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was concentrated from culture medium in which the Burkitt lymphoma line P_aJ-HR1K had grown. EBV infection of the virus-free line RPMI 6410, derived from the peripheral blood of a patient with myelogenous leukemia, resulted in a rapid decrease in cell viability, various incidences of cells with positive immunospecific staining for EBV, and high incidences of cells with chromosome aberrations. Control cultures and cultures treated either with heat-inactivated EBV suspension or with a suspension concentrated from the culture fluid of the EBV-free Burkitt lymphoma line Raji grew normally, lacking detectable EBV-containing cells and exhibiting relatively low incidences of cells with chromosome aberrations. Chromosome and chromatid breaks accumulated more in subterminal or terminal regions, especially in the long arms, of various groups of chromosomes. Metaphases with pulverized chromosomes but without dicentric or exchange figures were frequently observed in EBV-treated cultures.