Effect of the ebna‐2 gene on the surface antigen phenotype of transfected ebv‐negative B‐lymphoma lines

Abstract
Two EBV‐negative B‐lymphoma cell lines with different phenotypes were transfected with the Epstein‐Barr virus EBNA‐2 gene. The effects on the expression of 8 B‐cell surface markers were analyzed by immunofluorescence methods. In one of the EBNA‐2 transfected cell lines, the expression of the CR2 receptor CD21 was induced and the expression of CD23 was enhanced. The results suggest that the EBNA‐2 gene is involved in the regulation of CD21 and CD23 in EBV‐carrying cells.