Fate of the C3H Mammary Tumor Agent in Mice of Strains C57BL, I, and BALB/c

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Abstract
Mice of low-mammary-tumor inbred strains C57BL, I, and BALB/c obtained the mammary tumor agent by foster-nursing on high-mammary-tumor strain C3H. These were the only mice that ingested C3H milk. They and their descendants were bred brother × sister and observed for the occurrence of mammary tumors. The agent disappeared from, or became inactive in, strains C57BL and I within a few generations. This confirmed earlier findings with C57BL mice and established a line whose ancestors carried the agent. Thirty-five generations of this line included 300 breeding females; none developed a mammary tumor. A BALB/c female obtained the C3H agent in 1940. Her descendants for 59 generations have shown a high incidence of mammary tumors. The last 37 completed generations are recorded herein. According to the tumor incidence and the average age at which tumors appeared in successive generations, the C3H agent has not increased or decreased in activity during passage through 59 generations of BALB/c mice.

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