T-cell lymphoma lines derived from rat thymomas induced by Moloney murine leukemia virus: phenotypic diversity and its implications

The phenotype of 27 Moloney murine leukemia virus-induced rat thymic lymphomas and 36 cell lines derived from these tumors was determined by using 18 monoclonal antibodies directed against hematopoietic cell surface determinants. The cell lines and the primary tumors from which they were derived were clonally related as determined by the pattern of provirus integration and the pattern of rearrangement of the T-cell receptor beta and delta and Igh loci. The differentiation phenotype of the primary tumors and the cell lines derived from them were related. The differences observed between the primary tumors and the cell lines could be explained either by the selection of subpopulations of tumor cells during establishment in culture or by the phenotypic instability of the tumor cells. One cell line (LE3Sp) underwent the transition from a CD4+ CD8+ to a CD4+ CD8- phenotype following exposure to interleukin-2 in culture. Both the primary tumors and the cell lines derived from them express a wide range of phenotypes which correspond to multiple stages in T-cell development. This observation suggests that the pleiomorphism of retrovirus-induced lymphomas, which had been suggested previously from the analysis of mouse tumors, is an intrinsic property of the process of oncogenesis and is not due to the transformation of different types of cells by spontaneously arising leukemogenic variants of the inoculated virus. The wide spectrum of phenotypes expressed by these tumors suggests that Moloney murine leukemia virus may infect and transform T cells at various stages of development. Alternatively, the target cells may be immature T-cell precursors which, following transformation, continue to differentiate. A host of early findings, suggesting that the repertoire of target cells is restricted to poorly differentiated hematopoietic progenitors, and the ability of the LE3Sp cell line to differentiate in culture indicate that the latter possibility may be more likely. The data in this report address the extent and mechanism of the phenotypic variability of retrovirus-induced rodent T-cell lymphomas. In addition, they demonstrate the potential usefulness of the T-cell lymphoma lines we have established in studies of oncogenesis and T-cell differentiation.

Western thymomas lack Epstein-Barr virus by Southern blotting analysis and by polymerase chain reaction

The authors investigated 16 western thymomas, 9 from the United States and 7 from Europe, for the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA sequences by both Southern blot hybridization analysis and polymerase chain reaction using EBV-specific DNA probes that detect the long internal repeat and terminal repeat regions and the EBNA-1 gene. None of the 16 thymomas contained evidence of the EBV genome, even though we could detect EBV by Southern blotting when EBV DNA represents less than or equal to 1% of the total DNA and by polymerase chain reaction when a single EBV-positive cell is present among 10(5) EBV-negative cells. These results fail to demonstrate EBV genome in western thymomas and stand in contrast to those of McGuire et al (Am J Pathol 1988, 131:385) who previously reported that the EBV genome is present in thymomas occurring in southern Chinese patients. Therefore EBV does not appear to be implicated in the pathogenesis of all thymomas. The presence of EBV in eastern thymomas, regions where EBV is endemic may be due to epidemiologic factors and/or genetic predispositions.

Retrovirus-like particles in human thymomas

The pathogenesis of thymoma is unclear. In this study retrovirus-like particles in human thymomas were detected by electron microscopy. Forty-two thymomas; 25 without complications and 17 associated with autoimmune disorders such as myasthenia gravis (13), systemic lupus erythematosus (1), polymyositis (1), Sjögren's syndrome (1), and pure red cell anemia (1), were examined. Thymic tissues from 9 infants suffering from congenital heart diseases and 7 hyperplastic thymuses obtained from myasthenic patients served as controls. The retrovirus-like particles were observed in 37.0% of thymomas without complications; 50.0% of thymomas associated with myasthenia gravis and other autoimmune disorders; 62.5% of thymuses associated with myasthenia gravis; and 33.3% of thymuses from infants with heart disease. The envelopes, including the central cores of the retrovirus-like particles, had diameters ranging from 70 to 460 nm, depending on the source of the specimen. The retrovirus-like particles were located in the cytoplasm, vacuoles, vesicles and lumens of the endoplasmic reticula of epithelial and/or plasma cells. Some retrovirus-like particles were seen budding from plasma membranes. These observations suggest that the retrovirus-like particles in thymomas might be an activated form of retrovirus originating in normal thymic tissue.

Identification of malignant cell clones in radio-induced murine thymic lymphomas by viral and cellular probes

The role of B ecotropic recombinant retroviruses in the emergence and the progression of radio-induced thymic lymphomas was evaluated by analyzing the cell populations present in nine primary and in in vivo propagated tumors. For this, tumor DNAs were analyzed by the Southern method using probes specific for newly acquired proviral sequences, T-cell receptor beta-chain, and immunoglobulin heavy chain genes. Our results show that primary radio-induced tumors are composed of several tumoral cell clones but do not support that malignant cell transformation and proliferation are conferred, solely, by the newly acquired ecotropic recombinant retroviral sequences.

Lack of evidence for the involvement of type-C and type-B retroviruses in radiation leukemogenesis of NFS mice

Southern blot analysis revealed no difference between the DNA from radiation-induced thymic lymphomas and DNA from normal NFS mice. The probes used in the Southern blot analyses used a murine leukemia virus (MuLV) env DNA probe (pXenv), which specifically hybridizes with xenotropic and recombinant viral env genes, and mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) DNA probes (MMTV gag-pol, MMTV env, and MMTV LTR). This suggests that radiation leukemogenesis was not associated with gross alteration of the organization of these retroviral genomes. In DNA from radiation-induced thymic lymphoma, there was no indication of gross rearrangement in the common integration site of MuLV, pim-1, or in the common integration sites of MMTV, int-1 and int-2. Dot blot analysis of RNA from radiation-induced thymic lymphomas and normal thymuses demonstrated that there was no substantial difference between them in the expression of retroviral sequences, pim-1, pvt-1, int-1, or int-2, although transcripts that could be hybridized to the retroviral sequences were slightly elevated in some radiation-induced thymic lymphomas. These results show that radiation leukemogenesis does not appear to involve the activation of endogenous type-C and type-B retroviruses.

Unique role for the T cell receptor in retrovirus binding by the C6VL thymoma

Binding of cognate Radiation leukemia virus (RadLV) by the C6VL/1 thymoma involves a subset of TCR molecules in association with CD4 molecules expressed by that cell line. A CD4- variant of C6VL/1 has now been isolated which also has RadLV binding capacity. Stable expression of the TCR, class I, and CD5 molecules but not Thy1.2 and CD4 molecules has been demonstrated, and the C6VL/1 origin of this cell has been confirmed by Southern blot analysis using probes specific for the TCR beta chain gene. This cell line has maintained binding capacity for RadLV/C6VL prepared as an immunoabsorbent matrix, but unlike the parent C6VL/1 cell line, binds significantly less well to the related RadLV/VL3 isolate. Binding of the variant cell line to RadLV/C6VL can be completely inhibited by anti-clonotypic antibody to the TCR but only weakly by anti-H-2Kb antibody used at the same concentration. These data suggest that the TCR on C6VL/1 can interact with RadLV in the absence of any co-receptor function of CD4 and implicates the TCR as a sufficient receptor for retrovirus.

Primary polyoma virus-induced murine thymic epithelial tumors. A tumor model of thymus physiology

Thymic tumors were induced in C3'/Bittner mice by neonatal inoculation with polyoma virus. The objective of this study was to identify the phenotypes of the cells within the tumors and to attempt to determine the origin of the neoplastic cell population(s). At the ultrastructural level, the neoplastic cells resembled normal thymic epithelium with tonofilaments and desmosomes. Immunoperoxidase staining demonstrated the presence of cytokeratin, Iak, -beta 2-microglobulin, -asialo-GM1, the thymic cortical epithelial marker ER-TR4, and the medullary epithelial marker ER-TR5. Islands of normal cortical thymocytes supported by residual normal cortical epithelium and acid phosphatase-positive cortical macrophages were interspersed in the tumors. Residual islands of normal medullary architecture with nonspecific esterase-positive IDCs were rarely identified in tumors. Most lymphocytes in the tumors were normal immature cortical thymocytes with the phenotype Tdt+, PNA+, Thy 1.2bright, Ly-1dull, H-2Kkdull, ThB+, J11d+, and Lyt-2+L3T4+. Lymphocytes in the tumors were steroid-sensitive like normal thymocytes. The proportions of Lyt-2+L3T4- and Lyt-2-L3T4+ cells were generally larger in the tumors than in normal thymus and reflected the higher frequency of lymphocytes in the tumors capable of proliferating in vitro in response to Con A plus IL-2. The data were consistent with the hypothesis that the neoplasia originates from thymic epithelium that is interspersed with normal, developing thymic lymphocytes.

Provirus insertion in Tpl-1, an Ets-1-related oncogene, is associated with tumor progression in Moloney murine leukemia virus-induced rat thymic lymphomas

T-cell lymphomas induced in rats by Moloney murine leukemia virus acquire increasing numbers of proviruses in their genome during tumor progression in vivo and passage of tumor cells in vitro. To determine whether the proviruses progressively acquired during tumor progression play a causal role in this process, we cloned one of them from a cell line derived from the primary tumor 2772. A probe from the cellular DNA flanking the provirus was used to analyze 79 DNA samples from primary tumor tissues of 28 tumor-bearing rats and 80 DNA samples from 30 independent tumor cell lines. This analysis revealed a rearrangement in this region in the primary tumor derived from the thymus of one animal but not in a clone of the same tumor segregating in the spleen. Of the cell line DNA samples, three carried a provirus in this region. Two of these integration events had occurred independently in two clonally related sublines derived from tumor 2772, and they were followed by rapid selection in culture. On the basis of these findings this locus was named Tpl-1 (tumor progression locus 1). The Tpl-1 locus was mapped to rat chromosome 8 and to mouse chromosome 9 at a genetic distance of 1.2 +/- 0.9 centimorgans from the Ets-1 protooncogene. Although the genetic distance between Tpl-1 and Ets-1 indicates that they are different genes, analysis of Tpl-1 cDNA clones revealed that the two are closely related.

Increased incidence of thymoma in Chinese myasthenia gravis: possible relationship with Epstein-Barr virus

Thymectomy was carried out for treatment of myasthenia gravis in 27 unselected Chinese patients and thymoma was found in 13 of them. This 48% incidence of thymomas is two to three times greater than in Japanese and European patients, respectively. The reason for the higher incidence of thymomas observed in Chinese patients may be related to the presence of the Epstein-Barr virus genome in thymoma. Furthermore, all of the thymomas in our patients were lymphoepithelial and histologically resemble nasopharyngeal carcinoma and undifferentiated carcinoma of the salivary gland. Both these tumours are closely linked to the Epstein-Barr virus and in Hong Kong, nasopharyngeal carcinoma is the third commonest cause of death from malignancy. We recommend early thymectomy for patients with myasthenia gravis particularly in geographical areas where there is a high incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and undifferentiated carcinoma of the salivary gland.

Thymic atrophy characteristic in transgenic mice that harbor pX genes of human T-cell leukemia virus type I

The human T-cell leukemia viruses (HTLV) are associated with T-cell malignancies in humans. The malignant transformation occurs after a long latency in some carriers, and its mechanism appears to be distinct from that of other classes of retroviruses which induce transformation through viral or cellular oncogenes. A widely postulated explanation is that the products of novel pX genes transactivate endogenous cellular genes which lead to tumor development in T cells. To directly examine the pathological effects of pX genes in vivo, we produced transgenic mice harboring the HTLV type I pX genes under several regulatory units: HTLV type I long terminal repeat, immunoglobulin enhancer-simian virus 40 promoter, and mouse mammary tumor virus long terminal repeat. Atrophy of the thymus was characteristic in these mice no matter which regulatory unit directed the expression of the genes.

Evidence of recombinant ecotropic provirus integration in thymic lymphomas induced by direct or indirect radiation effects

Several investigators described the occurrence of ecotropic recombinant proviruses in the DNA of in-vivo or in-vitro propagated radio-induced lymphomas, but such proviruses were never detected in primary tumors. To assess their biological significance in the tumorigenic process, we reinvestigated the presence of new proviruses chiefly in primary radio-induced tumors and in models of radioleukemogenesis which could give additional support for their role. Such models included thymic lymphomas originating after (i) graft of non-irradiated thymuses in thymectomized irradiated mice and (ii) the injection of a B-ecotropic retrovirus (T1223/B) in association with a subleukemogenic dose of irradiation. We report for the first time that new ecotropic proviral sequences are encountered in a significant number (30%) of primary lymphomas induced directly by irradiation or indirectly in non-irradiated thymuses grafted in irradiated hosts. The existence of a 3.5-kbp Kpn1 restriction fragment with ecotropic sequences in the digested DNA of these tumor cells indicates that these new sequences belong to an ecotropic provirus recombinant in the gag-pol region. We observed that most of the primary radio-induced tumors in which novel recombinant provirus could be detected, displayed the integration at a single or at a few sites, demonstrating their clonality with respect to viral integration. The same was observed in thymic lymphomas arising after T1223/B virus injection and irradiation and in in-vivo or in-vitro propagated tumors. Altogether, these data bring the first evidence of the integration of ecotropic recombinant proviral genomes in a significant number of primary radiation induced thymic lymphomas and of their possible role in view of their frequent occurrence in grafted thymomas.

Characterization of cell markers in type B retroviral-induced thymic lymphomas--II. Surface antigen phenotype, karyotype and proviral integration pattern in cultured lymphoma cells and cloned lines

This study examined the surface antigen phenotype, karyotype and proviral integration patterns of cultured cells from murine thymic lymphomas induced by injecting neonatal mice with the type B leukemogenic retrovirus (DMBA-LV). Cells from the primary thymic lymphomas were established in mass culture and from these, clonal tumor cell lines were derived. During in vitro culture of lymphoma cells, Lyt 1-2+ cells predominated with an apparent selection against cells of the Lyt 1+2- and Lyt 1+2+ phenotypes. Of 21 cloned lines established, five had a diploid chromosome complement and expressed the Lyt 1-2+ phenotype. The other 16 clones lines were characterized by trisomy of chromosome 15 and expressed the Lyt 1+2+ or Lyt 1-2+ phenotype. Cells characterized by either a diploid or trisomy chromosome complement were capable of growth in vivo. Southern blot analyses showed that during growth in culture, cells from the mass cultures and cloned lines continued to acquire low numbers of new integrated DMBA-LV proviral copies while maintaining the basic proviral integration pattern present in the DNA from cells of the primary lymphomas. These findings support the notion that the acquisition of new genetic information in cells from DMBA-LV-induced thymic lymphomas may contribute to the continual generation of tumor heterogeneity.

Duplication of noncoding sequences in polyomavirus specifically augments the development of thymic tumors in mice

A 40-base-pair duplication of noncoding sequences in polyomavirus specifically augmented the development of thymic epitheliomas following inoculation of virus into newborn mice. Virus strains carrying only one copy of this sequence induced a full spectrum of tumors except for overt thymic tumors. This 40-base-pair repeat, on the early side of the replication origin, constituted a tissue-specific regulatory determinant for tumor induction.

Development of donor-derived thymic lymphomas after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in AKR/J mice

The transplantation of bone marrow cells from BALB/c (but not C57BL/6 and C3H/HeN) mice was observed to lead to the development of thymic lymphomas (leukemias) in AKR/J mice. Two leukemic cell lines, CAK1.3 and CAK4.4, were established from the primary culture of two thymic lymphoma, and surface phenotypes of these cell lines found to be H-2d and Thy-1.2+, indicating that these lymphoma cells are derived from BALB/c donor bone marrow cells. Further analyses of surface markers revealed that CAK1.3 is L3T4+ Lyt2+ IL2R-, whereas CAK4.4 is L3T4- Lyt2- IL2R+. Both CAK1.3 and CAK4.4 were transplantable into BALB/c but not AKR/J mice, further indicating that these cells are of BALB/c bone marrow donor origin. The cells were found to produce XC+-ecotropic viruses, but xenotropic and mink cell focus-forming viruses were undetectable. Inasmuch as thymic lymphomas are derived from bone marrow cells of leukemia-resistant BALB/c strain of mice under the allogeneic environment of leukemia-prone AKR/J mice, this animal model may serve as a useful tool not only for the analysis of leukemic relapse after bone marrow transplantation but also for elucidation of the mechanism of leukemogenesis.

Association of the Epstein-Barr virus with lymphoepithelioma of the thymus

A 30-year-old woman with the histologic diagnosis of lymphoepithelioma of the thymus is reported on. Investigation of Epstein-Barr serology showed evidence of infection, and Southern blot analysis showed the presence of the viral genome in the tumor specimen. The patient achieved complete remission after treatment with combination chemotherapy, autologous bone marrow transplant, and radiotherapy. These findings suggest that lymphoepithelioma of the thymus may have a viral pathogenesis similar to that of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced T-lymphomas of AKR/J mice contain somatically acquired ecotropic-like murine leukemia proviruses

We have studied somatically murine leukemia proviral integrations in primary N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU)-induced thymic lymphomas of AKR/J mice. The majority of MNU-induced lymphomas contain newly acquired murine leukemia proviral sequences. In contrast to spontaneous AKR/J lymphomas which contain multiple integrations of mink cell focus-forming recombinant proviruses, MNU-induced lymphomas contain ecotropic-related proviruses. This conclusion was based on the demonstration that EcoRI- and PvuII-digested DNA from MNU-induced lymphomas contains new 3' proviral-cellular junction fragments that hybridize with the ecotropic-specific pAKV-4 and pAKV-5 hybridization probes. Also, EcoRI/PstI double digests of DNA from MNU-induced lymphomas revealed that the acquired proviruses do not contain an internal 3' EcoRI site characteristic of mink cell focus-forming recombinant viruses. The proviral integration patterns suggest that MNU-induced lymphomas are clonal or oligoclonal in nature. This conclusion is supported by comparison of proviral integration patterns in lymphomas obtained from thymus and spleen of individual mice, and by analyses of T-cell receptor beta-chain gene rearrangements. The frequent occurrence of ecotropic-related proviral sequences in MNU-induced lymphomas suggests that these newly acquired proviruses may play a role in tumor development.

Recombination between two integrated proviruses, one of which was inserted near c-myc in a retrovirus-induced rat thymoma: implications for tumor progression

Of 17 Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMuLV)-induced rat thymomas, 2 contained rearrangements in c-myc. In one of these tumors the observed rearrangement was not due to the insertion of an intact MoMuLV provirus. The rearranged c-myc DNA fragment from this thymoma was cloned and examined by restriction endonuclease mapping, hybridization to MoMuLV proviral DNA probes, and DNA sequence analysis. These analyses revealed that the c-myc rearrangement in this tumor was due to the presence of a partially duplicated MoMuLV long terminal repeat (LTR) 5' to c-myc exon 1. The orientation of this LTR structure was opposite to the transcriptional orientation of c-myc. The sequences at the 3' flanking side of the LTR structure were derived from a cellular DNA region which maps to the same chromosome as c-myc (chromosome 7), although to a site distant from this proto-oncogene. These findings present evidence for a homologous recombination event occurring between sequences of two proviruses integrated on the same chromosome, one of which was inserted near the c-myc proto-oncogene. The recombination product contains three copies of the MoMuLV LTR 72-base-pair direct repeat and is associated with a high level of c-myc expression. The reciprocal product of this recombination was not detected. We propose that recombination between homologous sequences may play a significant role in the generation of chromosomal rearrangements and therefore in tumor induction and progression.

Thymic lymphoma induction by the AKT8 murine retrovirus

The directly transforming murine retrovirus, AKT8, was isolated from a spontaneous AKR thymoma and carries the cell-derived viral oncogene, akt. We have now shown that this virus produces thymic lymphomas after inoculation of susceptible mouse strains. The presence of the AKT8 genome in the DNA of the virus-induced tumors was demonstrated by Southern blotting using an akt-specific probe. These results establish the in vivo pathogenicity of the AKT8 virus and its akt oncogene, and imply a potential role for the cellular akt proto-oncogene in tumor development.

Characterization of early molecular biological events associated with thymic lymphoma induction following infection with a thymotropic type-B retrovirus

A highly leukemogenic virus (DMBA-LV) induces thymic lymphomas with a very short (40 days) latent period. All induced tumors contain low numbers of new integrated DMBA-LV type-B proviruses and tumorigenicity of DMBA-LV is completely abolished by a monoclonal antibody directed toward an envelope determinant present on a type-B mammary tumor-inducing viral isolate. While the DMBA-LV type-B genome is very highly related to mammary tumor-inducing isolates it does have unique gp52 and p28 proteins as well as unique restriction endonuclease sites. In the present study the target cell specificity of DMBA-LV was contrasted with that of the mammary tumor-inducing isolate MMTV (C3H). The results indicated that infection of CFW/D mice with DMBA-LV could be detected in the thymus only as early as 17 days postinfection and by 40 days postinfection all 40 thymuses examined contained new integrated proviral copies of DMBA-LV. In contrast, when mice were injected intrathymically with MMTV (C3H) virus infection was transiently detected in the thymus only at 28 days postinfection. By 35 and 42 days postinfection there was no indication that virus-infected cells were still present. Analysis of individual thymic lobes following DMBA-LV infection suggested that independent tumors may be initiated in each of the separate lobes. Furthermore, there appeared to be a correlation between the weight of the lobe and the number of new DMBA-LV proviral copies, the larger the lobe the greater the number of newly integrated proviral copies.

Recombinant feline viruses containing the myc gene rapidly produce clonal tumours expressing T-cell antigen receptor gene transcripts

We, and others, have recently shown that recombinant feline leukaemia viruses (FeLV) containing the myc gene (FeLV-myc) occur in up to 30% of naturally occurring cases of T-cell lymphosarcoma. Investigation of the disease spectrum of two FeLV-myc isolates showed that they induced clonal or oligoclonal T-cell tumours after a short latent period. The phenotypic pattern of the thymic tumours was restricted in that they all expressed the alpha and beta chains of the T-cell antigen receptor and could readily be established in culture in vitro without the addition of exogenous interleukin-2. Although helper FeLV was transmitted from infected cats to uninfected tracer cats, there was no evidence of horizontal transmission of FeLV-myc viruses, suggesting that these viruses arise de novo in individual cases of thymic lymphosarcoma.

Altered structure and expression of c-myc in feline T-cell tumours

The c-myc gene is rearranged in a subset of feline T-cell lymphosarcomas. Detailed mapping of c-myc rearrangements showed that some result from feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) proviral integration within or upstream of c-myc, but one case involves a complex 3' alteration and amplification which is apparently not directly virus-induced. S1 nuclease mapping of RNA from normal cells using c-myc probes revealed two presumptive 5' ends, each corresponding to a promoter-like sequence (P1 and P2), and a major 3' discontinuity which mapped to the 3'-most of two possible polyadenylation signals. Analysis of RNA from a series of tumours revealed different modes of c-myc expression. All tumours produced P1 and P2 transcripts with apparently normal structure except for one case where an insertion in intron 1 displaced exon 1 sequences. The abundance ratio of P1/P2 transcripts varied considerably and was high in tumours which carry a rearrangement adjacent to c-myc, but some other T-cell tumours with no apparent myc alteration displayed an equally high ratio. However, a consistent feature was the lack of detectable RNA from normal c-myc alleles in tumours which express a rearranged c-myc allele or a transduced FeLV v-myc gene. We suggest that this may prove to be a useful indicator of the presence of an oncogenically active myc gene, whether this is a rearranged c-myc or transduced v-myc sequence.

Dsi-1, a region with frequent proviral insertions in Moloney murine leukemia virus-induced rat thymomas

Dsi-1 is a region of chromosomal DNA that underwent proviral insertion in 3 of 24 Moloney murine leukemia virus-induced rat thymomas. In one of these tumors, a provirus is also integrated adjacent to the proto-oncogene c-myc. The proviruses in Dsi-1 have been characterized and appear to be complete. The proviruses were located within a 2-kilobase region that contained four prominent DNase I-hypersensitive sites. These hypersensitive sites were observed in Moloney murine leukemia virus-induced thymomas but not in NRK cells. The region of Dsi-1 immediately 3' to the insertions cross-hybridized with human and chicken DNA, indicating that it contains highly conserved sequences. No evidence could be found for the expression of this highly conserved region. Dsi-1 was mapped to mouse chromosome 4. This location demonstrates that Dsi-1 is different from 16 of the known proto-oncogenes (c-abl, c-erbA c-erbB, c-ets-1, c-ets-2, c-fes, c-fos, c-myb, c-myc, c-raf, A-raf, c-Ha-ras, c-Ki-ras, N-ras, c-sis, and c-src) and 12 cellular regions of tumor-associated integrations in retrovirus-induced tumors (c-erbB, Fis-1, int-1, int-2, Mis-1/pvt-1, Mlvi-1, Mlvi-2, c-mos, c-myb, c-myc, Pim-1, and c-Ha-ras). Hybridization experiments indicated that Dsi-1 is probably different from five additional proto-oncogenes (c-fgr, c-fms, c-mos, neu, and c-yes) and from two additional frequent integration regions (lck and Mlvi-3).

Identification of a new common provirus integration site in gross passage A murine leukemia virus-induced mouse thymoma DNA

The Gross passage A murine leukemia virus (MuLV) induced T-cell leukemia of clonal (or oligoclonal) origin in inoculated mice. To study the role of the integrated proviruses in these tumor cells, we cloned several newly integrated proviruses (with their flanking cellular sequences) from a single tumor in procaryotic vectors. With each of the five clones obtained, a probe was prepared from the cellular sequences flanking the provirus. With one such probe (SS8), we screened several Gross passage A MuLV-induced SIM.S mouse tumor DNAs and found that, in 11 of 40 tumors, a provirus was integrated into a common region designated Gin-1. A 26-kilobase-pair sequence of Gin-1 was cloned from two lambda libraries, and a restriction map was derived. All proviruses were integrated as a cluster in the same orientation within a 5-kilobase-pair region of Gin-1, and most of them had a recombinant structure of the mink cell focus-forming virus type. The frequency of Gin-1 occupancy by provirus was much lower in thymoma induced by other strains of MuLV in other mouse strains. Using somatic-cell hybrid DNAs, we mapped Gin-1 on mouse chromosome 19. Gin-1 was not homologous to 16 known oncogenes and was distinct from the other common regions for provirus integration previously described. Therefore, Gin-1 appears to represent a new common provirus integration region. The integration of a provirus within Gin-1 might be an important event leading to T-cell transformation, and the Gin-1 region might harbor sequences which are involved in tumor development.

Deregulation of the c-myc oncogene in virus-induced thymic lymphomas of AKR/J mice

A high frequency (greater than or equal to 65%) of thymomas induced by mink cell focus-forming virus 69L1 in AKR/J mice contain proviral integrations which are clustered 0.7-kilobase upstream of the c-myc oncogene predominantly in the opposite transcriptional orientation. Blot hybridization experiments showed that on the average there was only a twofold elevation of steady-state c-myc RNA in the thymomas as compared with levels in normal AKR/J thymocytes. Such an increase would not appear to be sufficient as a mechanism of oncogene activation in this system. In contrast, S1 nuclease analysis of transcripts initiated from the two known c-myc promoters indicated a strong shift in promoter usage in virtually all thymomas tested. In normal thymus the ratio of transcripts initiated from the proximal promoter P1 to the distal promoter P2 was 0.2 to 0.3. In contrast, most of the thymomas tested (18 of 23) showed an average P1/P2 ratio of 1.2 regardless of whether or not proviral integrations could be detected within a 21-kilobase EcoRI fragment containing the three c-myc exons. We conclude that alterations in P1/P2 ratios are good indicators of c-myc deregulation in thymic lymphomas.

Autologous monoclonal antibodies recognize tumour-associated antigens in X-irradiated C57BL/6 mice

X-irradiation of C57BL/6 mice induces thymic lymphosarcomas which sometimes contain retroviruses which upon injection into normal mice mimic the effect of the irradiation. We examined whether specific antigenicities, viral or cellular, were expressed by tumour cells that could be recognized by antibodies from the irradiated animals. We developed monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) using splenocytes of the diseased animal. The reactivity of such MAbs towards thymoma cell lines established in vitro was investigated by means of an ELISA. At least 10 antibody specificities were detected on the 13 tumours investigated, allowing separation of the MAbs into three classes: those recognizing the autologous tumour, heterologous tumours as well as normal thymic tissue, those specific for the autologous tumour, and those specific for one tumour, but not ones of autologous origin. The last two classes corresponded to specific tumour-associated antigens. Our panel of MAbs defined each tumour by the particular pattern of antigens harboured. It is striking that most of the antigens were present in the normal thymus and that only two tumours had additional antigenicities. Additionally, quantitative variations were observed in the levels of expression of these antigens.