Abstract
AbstractCells from Burkitt lymphoma (BL) biopsies were examined for Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV)‐associated antigens by complement fixation (CF) tests and by the anti‐complement immunofluorescence (ACIF) test. In CF tests, anticomplementary factors made it difficult to test all the biopsies available. However, biopsies from 19 patients were effectively tested and 12 of these (including two from one patient) contained antigen reacting with a battery of human sera with antibody to EBV but not with sera lacking such antibody. Technical difficulties prevented further characterization of the EBV‐related antigens in the biopsies. Application of the ACIF test to BL revealed the presence of EBV‐related nuclear antigen in biopsies from 11 of 13 patients. Absorption studies indicated that the nuclear antigens of the biopsies were closely related antigenically to the EBV‐determined nuclear antigen (EBNA) previously described in lymphoblastoid cell lines. It is concluded that cells of BL biopsies may contain EBNA in addition to the EBV‐related membrane antigen previously described. The results provide further evidence that BL cells from African patients resemble non‐producer lymphoblastoid cell lines in containing EBNA and therefore appear to be transformed by EBV.
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