Immunological characterization of mouse mammary tumor virus p10 and its presence in mammary tumors and sera of tumor-bearing mice.
Mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) p10 and gp52 were purified and used as radiolabeled antigens in sensitive radioimmunoassays. These radioimmunoassays were specific for MMTV proteins since detergent-disrupted MMTV from C3H/HeN, RIII, and GR/N mice gave complete competition, whereas C3H/HeNf liver extracts and other lysed retroviruses did not. Both gp52 and p10 are coded by the viral genome, since MMTV grown in a heterologous cell line (feline kidney cells) competed in these assays. Sera from mammary tumor-bearing mice and mammary tumors from C3H/HeN and C3H/HeNf mice competed in both the gp52 and the p10 assays. Although these radioimmunoassays detected predominantly group-specific antigenic determinants in C3H/HeN and C3H/HeNf tumor extracts, type specificity was also found with gp52. Absorption of the anti-MMTV serum with C3H/HeNf tumor extracts removed all antibodies directed against p10 and decreased the anti-gp52 titer approximately 30-fold. When this absorbed antiserum was used at limiting dilution in the gp52 radioimmunoassay, C3H/HeN tumor extracts gave complete competition, whereas no competition was found with C3H/HeNf tumor extracts.
D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D000939:Epitopes; D005260:Female; D007106:Immune Sera / Q000032:analysis; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000276:immunology*; D008324:Mammary Tumor Virus, Mouse / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
D000941:Antigens; D000939:Epitopes; D007106:Immune Sera; D014764:Viral Proteins