Cell-surface antigens associated with dualtropic and thymotropic murine leukemia viruses inducing thymic and nonthymic lymphomas.

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Abstract
Unique type-specific antigens were detected on cells infected with dualtropic and thymotropic viruses isolated from X-ray-induced T [thymus-derived] cell- and B [bone marrow-derived] cell-malignant lymphomas of C57BL/6 mice. These antigens were defined by membrane fluorescence with rabbit antisera. The antisera were qualitatively absorbed with a group of cells chronically infected with related dualtropic, ecotropic and xenotropic viruses. The absorbed antisera detected type-specific, virus-related cell-surface antigens that were unique for different dualtropic virus isolates. The unabsorbed sera also reacted with antigens found specifically on ecotropic and xenotropic virus-infected cells. T cell lymphoma (TCL)-inducing and B cell lymphoma (BCL)-inducing viruses isolated from X-irradiated C57BL/6 mice apparently are env gene recombinants in which ecotropic gene sequences are substituted by xenotropic sequences. Unique antigenicities are associated with each TCL-inducing and BCL-inducing dualtropic virus, and the thymotropic TCL-inducing virus isolates (e.g., 136.5 and 136.7 viruses) represent a separate serologic group, different from the dualtropic TCL-inducing viruses. Absorbed antisera in microimmunofluorescence tests were used for serologic virus mapping of dualtropic clones which were related serologically to previously isolated clones. Many serologically different recombinant viruses can be isolated from C57BL/6 mice. Many distinct recombinant viruses may exist in lymphomagenic C57BL/6 mice, some of which are associated with specific lymphoma induction.