Several EBV-transformed cell lines were used to inve stigate the
pathogenesis of lymphoproliferative diseases and nasopharyngeal
carcinoma.The studies focus on theevents occurring inside the
membrane. Only in one occasion, the cell membrane of
EBV-transformed B lymphocyte from a cystic fibrosis patient was
found to express defective Cl channels(CFTR; Cystic Fibrosis
Transmembrane Regulator) as those in the airway epithelial cell.
Yet, no other type of channel in EBV- transformed cells was
investigated. In this study, the cell membrane of B95-8 cell was
examined by patch- clamp technique and compared with the non-
EBV- infected BJAB cell.The high conductance (~300pS)
maxi-chloride (Cl) channel activity was the most frequently
observed event in inside-out configurations.Under similar
experimental conditions, we have found significantly higher
probability of detecting maxi- Cl channel activity on the cell
membrane of B95-8 cell(69%) than BJAB cell(27%) and those
previously reported on resting murine B lymphocyte (38%) or intact
human T lymphocyte (37%). The relative abundance of the maxi-Cl
channel on B95-8 cells may be linked to EBV infection and/or secretory
ability.