RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Speck, Peter A1 Kline, Kimberly A. A1 Cheresh, Paul A1 Longnecker, Richard YR 1999 T1 Epstein–Barr virus lacking latent membrane protein 2 immortalizes B cells with efficiency indistinguishable from that of wild-type virus JF Journal of General Virology, VO 80 IS 8 SP 2193 OP 2203 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-80-8-2193 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1465-2099, AB Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpesvirus that efficiently transforms and immortalizes human primary B lymphocytes. In this study, the role of latent membrane protein 2 (LMP2) in EBV growth transformation was investigated. LMP2 is a virally encoded membrane protein expressed in EBV-immortalized B cells previously shown to be nonessential for EBV transformation. However, a recent study reported that LMP2 may be an important determinant for efficient B cell transformation (Brielmeier et al., Journal of General Virology 77, 2807–2818, 1996). In this study a deletion mutation was introduced into the LMP2 gene using an E. coli mini-EBV construct containing sufficient EBV DNA to result in growth transformation of primary B cells. In an alternative approach, the introduction of the gene encoding the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) by homologous recombination into the LMP2 gene of EBV strain B95-8, generating the same LMP2 deletion mutation is reported. Careful quantification of B cell transformation using the EGFP+LMP2− recombinant virus determined that in liquid culture medium or in culture medium containing soft agarose there was no difference in the ability of LMP2− virus to immortalize primary human B cells when compared to that of wild-type virus., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-80-8-2193