Establishment of AIDS-related primary-effusion lymphoma (PEL) cell lines that proliferate continuously without serum.

The gammaherpesvirus dually-infected (HHV8/EBV) PEL cell line, BC-1, was weaned gradually from fetal bovine serum (FBS) during successive feedings with RPMI 1640 medium containing human transferrin and selenium dioxide as the only additives. A serum-free cell line (sfBC-1) emerged that was 100% major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II negative, compared with 10% MHC class II-negative cells before serum removal. In contrast, MHC class I expression by sfBC-1 cells slightly exceeded that of BC-1 cells. BC-1 and sfBC-1 cells were indistinguishable in six polymorphic genetic loci, confirming their relatedness and sfBC-1 cells contained HHV8 and EBV. These findings were not attributable to dual infection because the PEL cell line, BCBL-1, which is infected with HHV8 but not EBV, also contained MHC class II positive (45%) and class II negative (55%) cells. Moreover, a serum-free BCBL-1 (sfBCBL-1) cell line was established and the sfBCBL-1 cells were MHC class I up modulated and 100% MHC class II negative. The serum-free cell lines established in this study may be useful for exploring PEL-cell autocrine-growth pathways and for assessing MHC class II-negative PEL cells for tumorigenesis in animal model systems.

Heroin detoxification with acupuncture and electrical stimulation.

Acupuncture with electrical stimulation is a feasible nonchemical method for detoxification of heroin addicts, with particular limitations as regards to heavy users. Short-term follow-up seems to indicate reversion to heroin is comparable to other detoxification methods. It could be of great interest to study the effect of easily available postdetoxification maintenance acupuncture as an alternative to heroin. Withdrawal symptoms are relieved in a hierarchial manner with apparent parasympathetically mediated symptoms subsiding first, and frequently with incomplete resolution of bone and joint pain.