Growth in semisolid agar medium of human cord leukocytes freshly transformed by Epstein-Barr virus.

The semisolid agar method for the selective growth of transformed cells was applied to investigations of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) transformation. When 1 X 10(5) HUMAn umbilical-cord blood leukocytes were seeded in agar medium immediately after EBV exposure, about 100 colonies developed in each dish. The occurrence of colonies correlated well with dilutions of EBV inoculum. These colonies were composed of lymphoblasts, were positive for EBV-determined nuclear antigen immunofluorescence, and consistently resulted in the establishment of cell lines. In cord leukocyte cultures exposed to EBV, cells capable of growing in semisolid agar medium appeared early and increased rapidly, though the total numbers of leukocytes and control cultures decreased during the first several days.