A new lymphoid cell line, Reh 6, with characteristics of non-T and non-B cells, lacking the Epstein-Barr virus genome and derived from human acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

A new lymphoid cell line, Reh 6, has been established from the peripheral blood of a patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Reh 6 cells were assayed for the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA by nucleic acid hybridization and for Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen (EBNA) by the immunofluorescence test. Reassociation kinetics between in vitro [3H]-labeled EBV DNA and Reh 6 cell DNA indicated the absence of detectable amounts of EBV DNA in Reh 6 cell DNA. In addition, attempts to detect EBNA by the immunofluorescence test in Reh 6 cells were unsuccessful. Thus, this new lymphoid cell line apparently lacks the EBV genome.