Transformation in the Presence of Dimethyl Sulfoxide Facilitates Recovery of Epstein-Barr Virus

Abstract

Human umbilical cord blood lymphocytes were immortalized by infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the presence of various concentrations of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). 13 continuous lymphoblastoid cell lines were established. DMSO did not affect the efficiency of transformation and establishment of these lines. After a period of 2 months in culture, the lines were tested for EBV production by lethal irradiation (6,000 rad) from a ⁶⁰Co source and subsequent cocultivation with primary umbilical cord lymphocytes. Cell lines transformed in the presence of 2% DMSO yielded transforming activity in 46.6% of test cultures, compared with 9.5% for lines established without DMSO in the medium. These findings imply that a permanent change in the host/virus relationship resulted from a brief exposure (48 h) to DMSO at the time of transformation.

Amplification of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) DNA by Superinfection with a Strain of EBV Derived from Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

“…In this study the efficiency of superinfection by NPC-KT was significantly enhanced by treatment with DMSO, which had no effect on EBV expression in mock-infected Raji cells or on the efficiency of superinfection by HR-1 virus. DMSO has been shown to alter cellular expression and to induce differentiation of erythroleukemic cells, to enhance replication of cytomegalovirus, and possibly, to affect the degree of EBV viral replication in cell lines transformed in the presence of DMSO (29)(30)(31). It has been suggested previously (25, 26) that EBV replication occurs in the oropharyngeal epithelial cells as they differentiate and are sloughed into the oropharynx.…”