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. 1995 Jun;69(6):3752–3758. doi: 10.1128/jvi.69.6.3752-3758.1995

A subpopulation of normal B cells latently infected with Epstein-Barr virus resembles Burkitt lymphoma cells in expressing EBNA-1 but not EBNA-2 or LMP1.

F Chen 1, J Z Zou 1, L di Renzo 1, G Winberg 1, L F Hu 1, E Klein 1, G Klein 1, I Ernberg 1
PMCID: PMC189092  PMID: 7745723

Abstract

Using reverse transcription of whole cellular RNA and nested PCR, we have performed experiments mixing different proportions of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-carrying and EBV-negative cells. Based on the results, a method that detects viral transcripts for EBNA-1, EBNA-2, LMP1, and LMP2a from less than one positive cell among 10(5) negative cells was developed. With this method we have shown that the EBV DNA positive cells among small, high-density peripheral blood B-lymphocytes of normal healthy persons express EBNA-1-mRNA but not EBNA-2 or LMP1. A similar EBV expression pattern is found in type I Burkitt lymphoma cells. We suggest that the expression pattern in the lymphoma cells reflects the viral strategy in normal resting B cells and meets the requirements of latent persistence.

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Selected References

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