Establishment of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated nuclear antigen (EBNA)-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma hybrid cell line (NPC-KT).

Primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells were fused to hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT)-defective cells derived from adenoid tissues using Sendai virus. Some of the fused cells developed into epithelial-like hybrid cells in a selective HAT medium. The hybrid cells (NPC-KT) were Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated nuclear antigen (EBNA)-positive cells. There have been no reports on the establishment of EBNA-positive epithelial cell lines derived from NPC. Thus, the epithelial-like hybrid cells might serve as an in vitro model for studying the biologic activity of NPC-associated EBV.