Human T cell hybridomas specific for Epstein Barr virus-infected B lymphocytes.

A mutant of the Jurkat human T lymphoblastoid cell line deficient in hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase, and resistant to ouabain, was fused with peripheral blood T lymphocytes primed in vitro with Epstein Barr virus- (EBV) transformed autologous B lymphocytes. After selection of somatic cell hybrids and cloning, hybridoma cell lines were obtained that reacted with autologous EBV-infected B lymphocytes, as detected by the release of interleukin 2 into the culture medium. The hybridomas did not react with i) EBV-uninfected autologous or allogeneic B lymphocytes, ii) three out of four allogeneic EBV-transformed cell lines, or iii) two established EBV-negative B cell lines. These functional hybridomas may ultimately prove useful in dissecting the means by which human T lymphocytes recognize and regulate EBV infection in vivo.