Interaction of Herpesvirus ateles and Hepesvirus saimiri with primate lymphocytes. I. Selective adsorption of virus by lymphoid cells.

A semiquantitative infectious bioassay, described by Sairenji and Hinuma for the measurement of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) receptors, was adapted to study the adsorption of the lymphotropic New World herpesvirus ateles (HVA) to established lymphoid lines and lymphocytes of human versus marmoset origin. All marmoset T-cell lines [HVA- or HVS (herpesvirus saimiri)-carrying] had a high adsorbing capacity. EBV-carrying marmoset or human B-cell lines, one EBV-negative human B-lymphoma line, and one human myeloid leukemia-derived line failed to adsorb detectable virus. Two human T-cell derived cell lines of acute lymphatic leukemia origin showed moderate but significant adsorption, and the same was true for unfractionated marmoset lymphocytes. Human peripheral blood did not adsorb, before or after fractionation, whereas normal human thymocytes showed moderate but significant adsorption. It is concluded that HVA receptors are present on human T cells, probably belonging to certain subclasses.