Preliminary observations on new lymphoblast strains (Eb4, eb5) from burkitt tumours in a british and a ugandan patient

Abstract

Two new strains of cells (EB4, EB5) have been established in culture from caecal and mesenteric Burkitt tumours in a 15 year old English girl and a 20 year old Ugandan man respectively. The cells of each strain have grown in suspension as single individuals with only rare transient clumps and are continuing to proliferate after more than 8 months. The doubling time of the cells during periods of active growth has varied between 24 and 36 hours. The cells of eachstrain measure about 7μ in diameter, are rounded and regular, and at the fine structural level show the features of differentiated lymphoblasts; they also contain annulate lamellae and loop-shaped projections of the nuclear envelope. Both the EB4 and EB5 cells are currently being investigated for the presence of virus. This investigation was supported by the U.S. Public Health Service (Grant No. CA-06407) and assisted by the British Empire Cancer Campaign for Research. The authors are most grateful to Mr. D. Burkitt, Makerere University Medical School, Kampala, Uganda, and to Mr. P. G. Seed, Stepping Hill Hospital, Cheshire, England, for generously supplying biopsy material, and to Miss J. Woods-Thomson, Mr. G. Ball and Mr. T. Heather for invaluable technical help. © 1966, The British Empire Cancer Campaign for Research. All rights reserved.