EBV infection of mitogen-stimulated human B lymphocytes.

B lymphocytes from human blood were treated with the mitogen Protein A (Staph, aureus), which induces DNA synthesis in, as well as differeniation of, the B lymphocytes. The cells were subsequently exposed to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). EBV-infected and mitogen-stimulated cells were detected simultaneously, by using a combination of immunofluorescence (for EBNA) and autoradiography (for DNA-synthesis). In the initial phase (1-2 days) after addition of the mitogen, stimulated cells were as susceptible to infection as resting cells. Thereafter, their susceptibility decreased. This suggests that, although initiation of DNA-synthesis does not seem to limit sensitivity to the viral infection, differentiation of the B cells might do so. The intensity and pattern of EBNA-staining in prestimulated cells different from that of the controls.