Expression of Mammary Tumor Virus Antigen on the Membranes of Lymphoid Cells2

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Abstract
Immunoassays quantified murine mammary tumor virus (MMTV)-specified cell-surface antigens on mouse lymphoid cells. As measured by immunofluorescence and 51Cr release assays, MMTV expression in lymphoid cells was greatest in spleen, lymph node, and peritoneal cells. Quantitative levels of surface antigen expression in such cells correlated strongly with levels of virus excretion in milk and mammary tumor formation in high-virus expressor strains such as C3H/HeN, RIII, and DD/He. The percentage of MMTV-positive lymphoid cells increased with the age of the animals; it rose markedly shortly after birth in all strains, but reached higher levels earlier in strains with greatest natural mammary tumor incidence. All strains examined, including low-expressor strains such as BALB/c, NIH Swiss, and C57BL/Cum, expressed MMTV cell-surface antigen but at markedly lower levels. The relative absence of MMTV in the thymus, the pattern of distribution in other lymphoid organs, and the sensitivity of positive cells to anti-lgM and anti-MMTV but not anti-ø serum suggested that MMTV structural components were expressed on lymphoid cells and that this was associated primarily with the bone marrow-derived lymphocytes.

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