ANALYSIS OF THE TUMORIGENIC POTENTIAL OF COMMON MARMOSET LYMPHOBLASTOID-CELLS EXPRESSING A CONSTITUTIVELY ACTIVATED C-MYC GENE

The respective roles of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and c-myc in the path ogenesis of endemic Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) are unclear. In order to h elp resolve the question whether constitutive expression of the c-myc gene in an EBV-immortalised B cell is sufficient to induce a tumorigen ic phenotype, B cells from a common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) were immortalised with EBV, transfected with a constitutively activated c- myc gene and inoculated into the host animals. Despite the cell line t ransfected with c-myc displaying enhanced growth characteristics, in v itro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that this was not sufficient to induce a tumorigenic phenotype. This supports our previous finding s with EBV-immortalised human B cells transfected with an activated c- myc gene (Hotchin et al., 1990).