Retrovirus-like particles in EBV-negative Burkitt's lymphoma cell line but not in EBV-DNA-positive lines from patients with ataxia telangiectasia and Down's syndrome.

Retrovirus-like particles can be recovered by arginine deprivation from the BJAB-1 Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) negative cell line derived from an African patient with typical Burkitt's lymphoma. These particles resemble retroviruses in their morphology and in their physicochemical properties. Particles with a similar morphology were obtained from derivative cell lines established by infecting BJAB-1 cells with EBV. On the other hand, retrovirus-like particles could not be induced in EBV-DNA-positive lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from non-leukaemic patients with ataxia telangiectasia and Down's syndrome and from a patient with infectious mononucleosis.