Isolation and Quantification of Epstein-Barr Virus from the P3HR1 Cell Line

Summary

This protocol permits the isolation of Epstein-Barr virus particles from the human P3HR1 cell line upon inducing the viral lytic cycle with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. DNA is subsequently extracted from the viral preparation and subjected to real-time PCR to quantify the viral particle concentration.

Abstract

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), formally designated as Human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4), is the first isolated human tumor virus. Nearly 90-95% of the world's adult population is infected by EBV. With the recent advancements in molecular biology and immunology, the application of both in vitro and in vivo experimental models has provided deep and meaningful insight into the pathogenesis of EBV in many diseases as well as into EBV-associated tumorigenesis. The aim of this visualized experiment paper is to provide an overview of the isolation of EBV viral particles from cells of the P3HR1 cell line, followed by quantification of the viral preparation. P3HR1 cells, originally isolated from a human Burkitt lymphoma, can produce a P3HR1 virus, which is a type 2 EBV strain. The EBV lytic cycle can be induced in these P3HR1 cells by treatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), yielding EBV viral particles.

Using this protocol for the isolation of EBV particles, P3HR1 cells are cultured for 5 days at 37 °C and 5% CO₂ in complete RPMI-1640 medium containing 35 ng/mL PMA. Subsequently, the culture medium is centrifuged at a speed of 120 x g for 8 min to pellet the cells. The virus-containing supernatant is then collected and spun down at a speed of 16,000 x g for 90 min to pellet the EBV particles. The viral pellet is then resuspended in a complete RPMI-1640 medium. This is followed by DNA extraction and quantitative real-time PCR to assess the concentration of EBV particles in the preparation.

Introduction

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the first human tumor virus to have been isolated¹. EBV, formally referred to as Human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4)², is part of the gamma herpes virus subfamily of the herpes virus family and is the prototype of the Lymphocryptovirus genus. Nearly 90-95% of the world's adult population is infected by the virus³. In most cases, initial infection occurs within the first 3 years of life and is asymptomatic, however, if infection occurs later during adolescence, it may give rise to an illness referred to as infectious mononucleosis⁴

Protocol

NOTE: EBV should be considered a potentially biohazardous material, and thus should be handled under Biosafety Level 2 containment or higher. A lab coat as well as gloves should be worn. If there is potential for exposure to splashes, eye protection should also be considered. The following procedure should be conducted in a Biological Safety Cabinet.

1. Counting the P3HR1 cells

1. Centrifuging and resuspending cells
   1. Transfer the cell suspension from a 100 mm culture plate (or T-25 flask) of an ongoing P3HR1 cell culture at 80% confluency to a 15 mL conical tube. The seeding density of P3HR-1 cells is 1 ....

Results

The goal of this procedure is to isolate EBV particles in a suspension with known viral titer, that could subsequently be used to model EBV infection. Thus, it is of utmost importance to use optimal concentrations of the different reagents to obtain the highest EBV yield out of the procedure.

An optimization trial was performed to determine the concentrations of PMA and DMSO that would yield the highest number of EBV particles (Figure 2). A DMSO concentration of 0.......

Discussion

The production of EBV particles is necessary for understanding the biology of this virus as well as its associated diseases. Here we described the production of these particles from the P3HR-1 cell line. This cell line is not the only EBV-producer line; in fact, EBV particles have also been isolated from B95-8 cells^21,22 as well as the Raji cell line^18,19. The EBV lytic cycle has been induced in these cel.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.2 mL thin-walled PCR tubes	Thermo Scientific	AB0620	Should be autoclaved before use
0.2-10 µL Microvolume Filter Tips	Corning	4807	Should be autoclaved before use
0.5-10 µL Pipette	BrandTech	704770
10 mL Disposable Serological Pipette	Corning	4488
1000 µL Filtered Pipette Tips	QSP	TF-112-1000-Q
100-1000 µL Pipette	Eppendorf	3123000063
100x20 mm Cuture Plates	Sarstedt	83.1802
10-100 µL Pipette	BrandTech	704774
15 mL Conical Tubes	Corning	430791
200 µL Filtered Pipette Tips	QSP	TF-108-200-Q
20-200 µL Pipette	Eppendorf	3123000055
50 mL Conical Tubes	Corning	430828
CFX96 Real-Time C-1000 Thermal Cycler	Bio-Rad	184-1000
DMSO	Amresco	0231
DNase/RNase Free Water	Zymo Research	W1001-1
EBER Primers	Macrogen	N/A	Custom Made Primers
EBV DNA Control (Standards)	Vircell	MBC065
Ethanol (Laboratory Reagent Grade)	Fischer Chemical	E/0600DF/17
Fetal Bovine Serum	Sigma	F9665
Fresco 21 MicroCentrifuge	Thermo Scientific	10651805
Glycogen Solution	Qiagen	158930
Hemocytometer	BOECO	BOE 01
Inverted Light Microscope	Zeiss	Axiovert 25
iTaq Universal SYBR Green Supermix	Bio-Rad	172-5121
Microcentrifuge Tube	Costar (Corning)	3621	Should be autoclaved before use
P3HR-1 Cell Line	ATCC	HTB-62
Penicillin-Streptomycin Solution	Biowest	L0022
Phenol	VWR	20599.297
Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)	Sigma-Aldrich	P8139
Pipette Filler	Thermo Scientific	9501
Precision Wipes	Kimtech	7552
RPMI-1640 Culture Medium	Sigma	R7388
SL 16R Centrifuge	Thermo Scientific	75004030
Sodium Acetate	Riedel-de Haën (Honeywell)	25022
Spectrophotomer	DeNovix	DS-11
Tris-HCl	Sigma	T-3253
Trypan Blue Solution	Sigma	T8154
Water Jacketed CO2 Incubator	Thermo Scientific	4121