Herpesvirus saimiri (H. saimiri) can transform T lymphocytes and cause lymphoid tumors in rabbits and New World monkeys. H. saimiri-immortalized T cells express IL-2 and IL-4. The putative oncogenes of a group C strain of H. saimiri have been mapped to a region of the unique L-DNA which includes genes encoding four U-like small nuclear RNAs (HSUR1-HSUR4). Jurkat T cells express a 70 kD RNA binding factor (AUBF70) which binds HSUR2. Here we examined AUBF70 expression in resting and mitogen-stimulated human peripheral blood T cells and its sequence specificity and subcellular distribution. Band-shift assays demonstrated that resting human T cells express low amounts of AUBF70 which is induced by mitogen treatment. IL-2 and IL-4 mRNAs were co-induced with AUBF70 suggesting that AUBF70 is a positive regulator of lymphokine gene expression. Normal resting, mitogen-stimulated, and leukemic Jurkat T cells all express AUBF70 with virtually identical V8 proteolytic enzyme digestion patterns. Northern blots demonstrated that HSUR1 and HSUR2 are localized both in the nucleus and cytoplasm. HSUR2 accumulate in the cytoplasm in the presence of actinomycin D, which is consistent with re-transport of HSURs to the nucleus by (an) unstable factor(s). We hypothesize that HSUR1 and 2 transport AUBF70 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus; in the nucleus, AUBF70 binds and stabilizes lymphokine transcripts. Increased stability of lymphokine mRNAs could contribute to oncogenic transformation induced by H. saimiri.