Transmission of the polyoma virus middle T gene as the oncogene of a murine retrovirus.
Polyoma virus is a papovavirus that productively infects mouse cells. In cells of other species, such as rat cells, polyoma virus is virtually unable to replicate, and a small proportion of infected cells become stably transformed. The ability of polyoma virus to transform infected cells is determined by genes that encode the large, middle and small T antigens and which are found in the early region of the virus genome. We have inserted the transforming region of polyoma virus into a murine leukaemia virus (MLV) vector, to generate a replication-defective transforming retrovirus which for the first time allows efficient transformation of mouse cells by the polyoma virus middle T gene. During the life cycle of this recombinant virus the intervening sequence present in the original polyoma virus middle T gene was removed. The recombinant virus that we have constructed is analogous to other acutely transforming retroviruses, and demonstrates that the polyoma middle T gene is a dominant transforming oncogene.
D000818:Animals; D000952:Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D004274:DNA, Recombinant / Q000378:metabolism; D005796:Genes; D005814:Genes, Viral; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D009052:Leukemia Virus, Murine / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D009857:Oncogenes; D010957:Plasmids; D011120:Polyomavirus / Q000235:genetics*; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D014162:Transfection; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
D000952:Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D014764:Viral Proteins; D011494:Protein Kinases; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes