Relationship between Epstein-Barr virus-associated nuclear antigen and cell viability in human cell lines.

The relationship between the cell viability and frequency of cell with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated nuclear antigen was investigated in cultures of 4 EBV-carrier lymphoblastoid cell lines, by means of anti-complement immunofluorescence. The percentages of viable cells and those of EB nuclear antigen-positive cells were close to each other in the entire course of cultivation of all cell lines. This leads to a conclusion that absence of EB nuclear antigen in a given cell population should be evaluated in relation to cell viability.