Epstein-Barr virus-specific cytoskeletal early antigen in EBV-transformed cell lines.

An Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific determinant of early antigen (EA) character was found to be associated with intermediate filaments of EBV genome-activated cells. This determinant was defined with a murine monoclonal antibody (MAb) and with human MAb derived from lymphoblastoid cell lines of patients with acute infectious mononucleosis (IM). Such patients' antibodies either recognized intermediate filament determinants in general, or were restricted to the intermediate filament determinant of EBV genome-activated cells, as also recognized with the 1B6 murine MAb. The 1B6 determinant was a component of EA as defined by phosphonoacetate-resistance, methanol-sensitivity, and various co-staining and antibody-blocking experiments. While anti-intermediate filament antibodies have been reported after various viral illnesses, the 1B6 and some patients' antibodies recognize an EBV-specific determinant which might function in the lytic cycle of these cells.