EARLY STEPS IN FUSION BETWEEN EPSTEIN-BARR-VIRUS AND A HUMAN HEPATOMA-CELL LINE (LI7A)

Epstein-Barr virus, the causative agent of mononucleosis and several h uman cancers, infects cells via complement receptor type 2 (CR2). Expr ession of this receptor is restricted to 8 lymphocytes, some epithelia l cells and immature thymocytes; expression of CR2-like proteins has b een also found on T cells. In the present report, we identified the pr esence, on the membrane of Li7A cells, of a novel EBV receptor distinc t from CR2 capable of triggering fusion with EBV virions with more rap id kinetics than that found with lymphoblastoid cells (Raji).