Establishment of Epstein-Barr Virus Growth-transformed Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines

Infection of B cells with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) leads to proliferation and subsequent immortalization, resulting in establishment of lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) in vitro. Since LCL are latently infected with EBV, they provide a model system to investigate EBV latency and virus-driven B cell proliferation and tumorigenesis1. LCL have been used to present antigens in a variety of immunologic assays2, 3. In addition, LCL can be used to generate human monoclonal antibodies4, 5 and provide a potentially unlimited source when access to primary biologic materials is limited6, 7. A variety of methods have been described to generate LCL. Earlier methods have included the use of mitogens such as phytohemagglutinin, lipopolysaccharide8, and pokeweed mitogen9 to increase the efficiency of EBV-mediated immortalization. More recently, others have used immunosuppressive agents such as cyclosporin A to inhibit T cell-mediated killing of infected B cells7, 10-12. The considerable length of time from EBV infection to establishment of cell lines drives the requirement for quicker and more reliable methods for EBV-driven B cell growth transformation. Using a combination of high titer EBV and an immunosuppressive agent, we are able to consistently infect, transform, and generate LCL from B cells in peripheral blood. This method uses a small amount of peripheral blood mononuclear cells that are infected in vitroclusters of cells can be demonstrated. The presence of CD23 with EBV in the presence of FK506, a T cell immunosuppressant. Traditionally, outgrowth of proliferating B cells is monitored by visualization of microscopic clusters of cells about a week after infection with EBV. Clumps of LCL can be seen by the naked eye after several weeks. We describe an assay to determine early if EBV-mediated growth transformation is successful even before microscopic clusters of cells can be demonstrated. The presence of CD23hiCD58+ cells observed as early as three days post-infection indicates a successful outcome.