High- and low-leukemogenic variants of the radiation leukemia virus (RadLV) differ in ability to induce tumor-specific immune suppression.
Adult C57BL/6 mice inoculated intrathymically (i.t.) with the highly leukemogenic variant of the radiation leukemia virus (A-RadLV) develop suppressor cells capable of specifically abrogating a potential anti-tumor cytotoxic response in vitro. Suppressor cells were generated directly by the virus, independently of an initiation of a leukemogenic process. Inoculation of C57BL/6 animals with the low leukemogenic D-RadLV variant did not result in suppressor cell generation. It is proposed that induction of tumor-specific immune suppression by A-RadLV is essential for tumor progression, and the leukemogenic activity of D-RadLV is attributed to its inability to recruit suppressor cells.
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007938:Leukemia / Q000276:immunology*; D007953:Leukemia, Radiation-Induced / Q000382:microbiology; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000276:immunology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*