Studies on Acute Leukemia and Infectious Mononucleosis of Childhood. I. Viral Interference With Lymphoblastoid Cells of Spontaneously Transformed Bone Marrow Cultures2

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Abstract
Lymphoblastoid cells derived from spontaneously transformed bone marrow cultures of patients with leukemia or infectious mononucleosis were found to interfere with the plaque formation of vesicular stomatitis virus in a manner similar to that reported for the Burkitt lymphoma EB2 cells. The amount of interference mediated by these cells depended on the number of lymphoblastoid cells present in the culture and on the ability of the feeder monolayer to support their multiplication. The interference mechanism was shown to be due to the production by the lymphoblastoid cells of a virus inhibitor with the properties of interferon. The results obtained indicated that, in the presence of a substrate monolayer of human embryonic-bone marrow or spleen fibroblasts, the interference phenomenon was not specific for the lymphoblastoid or EB2 cells. Under these conditions, peripheral blood leukocytes from either normal individuals or patients with leukemia were as efficient, both in their interference capability and in their interferon production, as were the lymphoblastoid cells. The chief difference detected between the cells was that the lymphoblastoid cells produced interferon spontaneously in the absence of substrate monolayer, whereas peripherall blood leukocytes did not. In this respect, however, there was no difference between normal and leukemic peripheral blood leukocytes.