Figure 5
p28 is dispensable for HTLV-2-mediated proliferation and immortalization of primary T-lymphocytes. (A) Human PBMCs were isolated by Ficoll/Paque and co-cultivated with irradiated (10,000 rads) 729, 729.HTLV-2, or 729.HTLV-2Δp28 stable cell lines. PBMCs (2 × 106) were cultured with irradiated donor cells (1 × 106) in 24 well plates as indicated. A representative growth curve of HTLV-2 infected cells is shown. Cell viability was determined weekly by trypan blue exclusion (0–14 wks post co-cultivation). The mean and standard deviation of each time point was determined from three independent samples. (B) Pre-stimulated PBMCs (104) were co-cultured with 2 × 103 irradiated 729 stable producer cells in 96 well plates. The percentages of proliferating wells were plotted as a function of time (wks). Representative Kaplan-Meir plots for wtHTLV-2, HTLV-2Δp28, and 729 uninfected control cells are shown. Results indicated that the percentage of wells containing proliferating lymphocytes was similar between wtHTLV-2 and HTLV-2Δp28 infected cells.