Transformation of mononuclear phagocytes in vivo and malignant histiocytosis caused by a novel murine spleen focus-forming virus.
The study of retrovirus-induced leukaemias in mice is a powerful tool for the elucidation of the normal regulation of the haematopoietic system. The acute murine spleen focus-forming viruses (SFFV) can be classified according to the haematopoietic lineage on which they exert their effects in the adult mouse. Here we report a new SFFV isolate, the AF-1 virus, with the novel ability to transform cells of the mononuclear phagocyte lineage. The virus was isolated from sarcomas that were induced on passage of a cloned Friend helper virus (F-MuLV, 643/22F) in newborn BALB/c mice. We have cloned the transforming defective subunit of the AF-1 viral complex in NRK cells and isolated several subclones. Analysis of the proviral genome in two non-producer cell clones reveals that AF-1 virus contains Harvey v-ras-specific sequences (Fig. 1). Thus, AF-1 virus is closely related to Harvey murine sarcoma virus (Ha-MSV), and is, at present, the only tool by which permanent cell lines can be obtained from mononuclear phagocytes in the mouse.
D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000382:microbiology; D006646:Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000382:microbiology; D051379:Mice; D009000:Monocytes / Q000382:microbiology*; D009857:Oncogenes; D010586:Phagocytes / Q000382:microbiology*; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D013154:Spleen / Q000382:microbiology