title: The effects of leukemosuppressive immunotherapy on thymic infectious cell centers in AKR mice.
abstract: Although cortical thymocytes were found to be the predominant ecotropic and MCF-virus producers in the thymus of leukemia prone AKR mice the initial ecotropic retrovirus producing cells have been detected among a low density subpopulation of thymocytes including both PNA(+) and PNA(-) cells. Leukemosuppressive anti-viral treatment of these animals results in several important changes in the AKR thymus, including the elimination of virus producing cells, the induction of cellular phenotypic alterations, a decreased ability to bind ecotropic and MCF virus, a resistance to challenge with leukemogenic exogenous retroviruses, and the apparent elimination of a population of virus producing radioresistant cells. In addition, complement-mediated depletion with anti-viral IgG resulted in the complete elimination of proliferating thymocytes. These results suggest that passive anti-viral immunotherapy effectively eliminates a population of thymocytes which serve as the neonatal source of endogenous retroviruses and interferes with the earliest stages of leukemogenesis in AKR mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Buckheit
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Liberman
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Bolognesi
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Weinhold
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002460:Cell Line; D002469:Cell Separation; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D005622:Friend murine leukemia virus / Q000276:immunology*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000008:administration & dosage; D007167:Immunotherapy; D007942:Leukemia, Experimental / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008806:Mice, Inbred AKR; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G