Effects of adenine arabinoside on lymphocytes infected with Epstein-Barr virus.

Low concentrations of adenine arabinoside inhibited growth of two Epstein-Barr virus producer cell lines in culture, while not significantly affecting a nonproducer cell line and a B-cell-negative line. These observations were extended to include freshly infected cells. Mitogen-stimulated human umbilical cord blood lymphocytes were unaffected by the drug at concentration levels that inhibited [3H]thymidine incorporation into the DNA of Epstein-Barr virus-stimulated cells. DNA synthesis in Epstein-Barr virus-superinfected Raji cells was also adversely affected by adenine arabinoside. However, these same low concentrations of adenine arabinoside in the triphosphate form produced less effect on DNA synthesis in nuclear systems and DNA polymerase assays than on growth or DNA synthesis in whole cells. Therefore the effects reported here of low concentrations of the drug on whole cells may be only in part related to DNA polymerase inhibition. The work reported here suggests that adenine arabinoside has multiple sites of action in infected cells.