Characterization of polytropic MuLVS from three-week-old AKR/J mice

Abstract

An immunological focus assay using monoclonal antibodies on live adherent in vitro cell lines was employed to detect and isolate different types of murine leukemia viruses (MuLVs) from spleen and thymus cells of young (<1 month of age) AKR/J mice. In agreement with earlier studies, ecotropic viruses were detected from cells of both tissues in all mice tested, although only trace levels of ecotropic MuLV infectious centers were found with thymus cells from mice of this age. Polytropic MuLVs were not detected in mice less than 3 weeks of age; however, between the ages of 3 and 4 weeks, polytropic viruses were detectable in assays of spleen cells from 50% of the mice. No polytropic MuLVs were detected in assays of thymocytes from any mice of this age. Several polytropic MuLVs obtained from spleens of young mice were further characterized. All of the isolates were infectious for both mink and SC-1 (feral mouse) cells, and exhibited interference properties typical of polytropic MuLVs. However, none of the viruses induced obvious cytopathic effects (CPE) on mink cells. All of the viruses appeared antigenically similar with regard to their reactivities to a panel of 12 monoclonal antibodies directed at envelope antigens of polytropic MuLVs. RNase T 1-resistant oligonucleotide analysis of a polytropic MuLV from a 26-day-old mouse indicated that its entire env gene was derived from nonecotropic sequences while the remainder of its genome was indistinguishable from the ecotropic parent. The isolate thus exhibited a genome structure typical of Class II polytropic MuLVs and is the first example of this type of MuLV isolated from AKR/J mice. Examination of polytropic MuLVs derived from the spleens and thymuses of 5- to 6-month-old mice indicated that only 2 of 10 isolates examined induced CPE on mink cells. Furthermore, most of the CPE-negative viruses isolated from spleen and thymus cells of these mice exhibited in vitro host ranges and antigenic reactivities similar to isolates from young mice, suggesting that this type of polytropic MuLV may originate in the spleen, subsequently spread to other tissues, and persist throughout the preleukemic period. The detection of polytropic viruses in a large proportion of very young mice is in contrast to previous studies which have not detected polytropic virus production in AKR mice less than 5 to 6 months of age. The isolates exhibit in vitro properties and structural features distinct from previously studied viruses from AKR mice and may potentially be involved in the generation of polytropic MuLVs found in late preleukemic and leukemic mice.