Molecular Probes in Studies of the Relationship of Viruses to Human Neoplasia

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Abstract
Extensive studies in a number of laboratories have established the role of ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses in the origin of animal neoplasms of diverse types. Recent studies have characterized the viruses biochemically and have developed biochemical tools for study of human tumors. These technics have been applied to an analysis of the role of viruses in human solid tumors and leukemia. In a series of studies based on the animal leukemia–sarcoma virus model system, cultures derived from human fibrosarcoma desmoides and from giant cell tumor of bone were inoculated with fresh bone marrow aspirates from patients with acute, lymphocytic leukemia. Foci of morphologically altered cells appeared in these cultures several tissue culture passages after inoculation. Cell lines were derived from the altered cells and were characterized biologically and biochemically. The cells exhibited growth properties and tumorigenicity characteristic of malignant cells in immunosuppressed mice. The cells were also found to release particles (buoyant density 1.15 to 1.17 Gm. per ml.) containing reverse transcriptase and high molecular weight RNA. The data obtained suggest that genetic information similar to that of animal RNA tumor viruses was present in the cells and was activated during transformation. The results add further evidence implicating RNA tumor viruses in the etiology of some types of human neoplasia, such as leukemia, giant cell tumor, and fibrosarcoma desmoides.

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