Comparison of Chromatographic Patterns of Low Molecular Weight RNA From Burkitt Lymphoma, Infectious Mononucleosis, EB-Virus Transformed, and Normal Human Lymphoblasts

The chromatographic characteristics of uridine- and methyl-labeled low molecular weight RNA (4S and 5S) of human lymphoblasts from Burkitt lymphoma, infectious mononucleosis, and EB-virus transformed lymphocytes were compared with lymphoblasts from normal donors (cell line) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-transformed peripheral blood lymphocytes. No significant differences in these RNA profiles were found between the lymphoblast cell line from a normal donor and the lymphoblast cell line derived from a patient with infectious mononucleosis. The profiles of uridine-labeled RNA but not methyl-labeled RNA of Burkitt lymphoma and EB-virus transformed cells differed from the normal control cells, i.e., the lymphoblast cell line derived from a normal donor and PHA-transformed lymphocytes, respectively. The findings suggest that the elution pattern of low molecular weight nonmethylated RNA of Burkitt lymphoma and EB-virus transformed cells are similar but differ from normal and infectious mononucleosis lymphoblasts. These differences apparently reflect variations in the relative amount of certain species of nonmethylated low molecular weight RNA that probably represents 5S RNA and/or messenger RNA fragments.