Presence of sarcoma genome in a "non-infectious" mammalian virus

Identification of a new viral protein containing CAp30 and NCp10 sequences in murine and feline leukemia retroviruses

Because Pr65gag is in part located in the nucleus and contains a putative bipartite nuclear targeting signal, we investigated the cellular location and structure of P55gag, a gag-encoded polyprotein known to lack the nucleocapsid (NC) protein NCp10. P55gag was found to be restricted to the cytoplasm of Moloney murine leukemia virus-infected cells. Of interest, P55gag was produced in cells infected by a viral protease deletion mutant and by a recombinant murine sarcoma virus known to lack the protease gene. Surprisingly, our structural and immunological studies indicated that P55gag also lacks carboxy-terminal residues of CAp30. During the course of studying P55gag, we detected a new viral protein within purified virus particles that contained NCp10 tryptic peptide sequences and a CAp30 tryptic peptide lacking in P55gag. This viral protein, which we have named nucleocapsid-related protein (NCRP), also contained antigenic epitopes present in CAp30 and NCp10. P55gag- and NCRP-like proteins were also observed in AKV murine leukemia virus and feline leukemia virus systems. The precise site of cleavage within Pr65gag that produces P55gag and NCRP is unknown but lies upstream of the CAp30-NCp10 junction within the carboxy-terminal domain of CAp30. The existence of a form of NCp10 containing carboxy-terminal CAp30 sequences raises interesting possibilities about its functional role in genomic RNA packaging and/or viral RNA dimerization.

Bovine leukemia virus protease: purification, chemical analysis, and in vitro processing of gag precursor polyproteins

Bovine leukemia virus protease was purified to homogeneity and assayed by using murine leukemia virus Pr65gag, a polyprotein precursor of the viral core structural proteins, as the substrate. A chemical analysis of the protease, including an amino acid composition and NH2- and COOH-terminal amino acid sequence analysis, revealed that it has an Mr of 14,000 and is encoded by a segment of the viral RNA located between the gag gene and the putative reverse transcriptase gene. As expected from the nucleotide sequence data (Rice et al., Virology 142:357-377, 1985), the reading frame for the protease is different from both the gag and reverse transcriptase reading frames. The 5' end of the protease open reading frame extends 38 codons upstream from the codon for the NH2-terminal residue of the mature viral protease and overlaps the gag open reading frame by 7 codons. The 3' end of the protease open reading frame extends 26 codons beyond the codon for the COOH-terminal residue of the mature protease and overlaps 8 codons of the reverse transcriptase open reading frame. Several lines of evidence, such as protein mapping of the gag polyprotein precursor, the characteristic structure of the mRNA, and promotion of the synthesis of a gag polyprotein precursor by lysine tRNA in vitro, suggest that the protease could be translated by frameshift suppression of the gag termination codon. In vitro synthesized bovine leukemia virus gag-related polyproteins were cleaved by the protease into fragments which were the same size as the known components of bovine leukemia virus, suggesting that the specificity of cleavage catalyzed in vitro by the purified protease is the same as the specificity of cleavage found in the virus.

Translational readthrough of an amber termination codon during synthesis of feline leukemia virus protease

Feline leukemia virus contains a protease which apparently has the same specificity as murine leukemia virus protease. It cleaves in vitro the Pr65gag of Gazdar-mouse sarcoma virus into the constituent p15, p12, p30, and p10 proteins. We purified the protease and determined its NH2-terminal amino acid sequence (the first 15 residues). Alignment of this amino acid sequence with the nucleotide sequence (I. Laprevotte, A. Hampe, C. H. Sherr, and F. Galibert, J. Virol. 50:884-894, 1984) reveals that the protease is a viral-coded enzyme and is located at the 5' end of the pol gene. As previously found for murine leukemia virus (Y. Yoshinaka, I. Katoh, T. D. Copeland, and S. Oroszlan, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82:1618-1622, 1985), feline leukemia virus protease is synthesized through in-frame suppression of the gag amber termination codon by insertion of a glutamine in the fifth position, and the first four amino acids are derived from the gag gene.

Murine leukemia virus protease is encoded by the gag-pol gene and is synthesized through suppression of an amber termination codon

We have purified from Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV) a protease that has the capacity of accurately cleaving the polyprotein precursor Pr65gag into the mature viral structural proteins. Both the NH2- and COOH-terminal amino acid sequences have been determined and aligned with the amino acid sequence deduced from the DNA sequence of Mo-MuLV by other workers. The results show that: (i) the protease is located at the 5' end of the pol gene, and the first four amino acids are overlapped with the 3' end of the gag gene; (ii) the fifth amino acid residue is glutamine, which is inserted by suppression of the UAG termination codon at the gag-pol junction; and (iii) the protease is composed of 125 amino acids with calculated Mr = 13,315, and the COOH terminus of the protease is adjacent to the NH2 terminus of reverse transcriptase. The map order of the gag-pol gene is proposed to be 5'-p15-p12-p30-p10-protease-reverse transcriptase-endonuclease-3'.

A deletion mutation in the 5' part of the pol gene of Moloney murine leukemia virus blocks proteolytic processing of the gag and pol polyproteins

Deletion mutations in the 5' part of the pol gene of Moloney murine leukemia virus were generated by restriction enzyme site-directed mutagenesis of cloned proviral DNA. DNA sequence analysis indicated that one such deletion was localized entirely within the 5' part of the pol gene, did not affect the region encoding reverse transcriptase, and preserved the translational reading frame downstream of the mutation. The major viral precursor polyproteins (Pr65gag, Pr200gag-pol, and gPr80env) were synthesized at wild-type levels in cell lines carrying the mutant genome. These cell lines assembled and released wild-type levels of virion particles into the medium. Cleavage of both Pr65gag and Pr200gag-pol precursors to the mature proteins was completely blocked in the mutant virions. Surprisingly, these virions contained high levels of active reverse transcriptase; examination of the endogenous reverse transcription products synthesized by the mutant virions revealed normal amounts of minus-strand strong-stop DNA, indicating that the RNA genome was packaged and that reverse transcription in detergent-permeabilized virions was not significantly impaired. Processing of gPr80env to gP70env and P15E was not affected by the mutation, but cleavage of P15E to P12E was not observed. The mutant particles were poorly infectious; analysis indicated that infection was blocked at an early stage. The data are consistent with the idea that the 5' part of the pol gene encodes a protease directly responsible for processing Pr65gag, and possibly Pr200gag-pol, to the structural virion proteins. It appears that cleavage of the gag gene product is not required for budding and release of virions and that complete processing of the pol gene product to the mature form of reverse transcriptase is not required for its functional activation.

Murine retrovirus Pr65gag forms a 130K dimer in the absence of disulfide reducing agents

Gazdar-murine sarcoma virus (Gz-MSV) particles, obtained from tissue culture fluids of chronically infected HTG-2 hamster cells are immature in morphology and contain uncleaved Pr65gag as the predominant protein (greater than 95% Coomassie blue stain) (A. Pinter and E. deHarven, 1979, Virology 99, 103-110; Y. Yoshinaka and R. B. Luftig, 1982, Virology 118, 380-388). When Gz-MSV particles are disrupted in 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and then analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) in the absence of reducing agents, such as beta-mercaptoethanol (beta-MSH) almost half of the Pr65gag Coomassie blue-stained band is detected as a band at a Mr of 130K. Electrophoretic blotting studies with monospecific antisera against MuLV p30, p15, p12, and p10 showed that the 130K band cross-reacted with all four antigens suggesting that it was a dimer of Pr65gag. Two-dimensional (2D) SDS-PAGE where the first dimension was run under nonreducing conditions and the second with beta-MSH, supported the contention that the 130K band was a dimeric complex of Pr65gag. One also saw minor amounts of a 260K and higher polymeric forms of Pr65gag on the SDS gels, suggesting that polymeric forms may exist as well. When 32P-labeled Gz-MSV particles obtained by in vivo labeling of infected HTG-2 cells with [32P]PPi were electrophoresed on SDS-PAGE, only 10% of the 32P label was detected at the 130K position. In contrast, 30% of the Coomassie blue-stained Pr65gag material was found at 130K on the 2D gels. This suggests that unphosphorylated Pr65gag is more likely to participate in dimer formation than phosphorylated Pr65gag. Pr65gag of Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV), which is present as a minor (5% of stain) protein band on SDS-PAGE also showed 130K dimers. Further, in beta-MSH-deficient SDS preparations of Gz-MSV, electrophoresed after trypsin treatment, a 32K band that stained with p15, but not p10, p12, nor p30, antisera was observed. If beta-MSH was added, this band was no longer present. Thus Pr65gag dimerization in immature MuLV particles appears to at least involve the p15 region of the polyprotein. Since p15 is an extremely hydrophobic protein, formation of Pr65gag dimers may occur when virion precursor proteins are brought to the cell membrane during virus assembly.

Studies with inhibitors of oligosaccharide processing indicate a functional role for complex sugars in the transport and proteolysis of Friend mink cell focus-inducing murine leukemia virus envelope proteins

The functions of asparagine-linked oligosaccharides on the PrENV protein of Friend mink cell focus-inducing (FrMCF-1) murine leukemia virus were investigated by examining the effect of two inhibitors of different stages of the biosynthetic pathway of these sugar substituents on the synthesis and processing of the viral proteins. Treatment of virus-producing cells with tunicamycin totally inhibited the glycosylation of PrEnv, and resulted in the formation of a nonglycosylated form of the protein of molecular weight 62 kDa. This component was not proteolytically processed inside the cells, and neither it nor any derivative proteins were incorporated into extracellular virions. Treatment of cells with 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNM), which inhibits the cellular glucosidases normally involved in removal of the three glucose residues present on the initially transferred oligosaccharide chains, resulted in the intracellular accumulation of a slightly larger than normal form of PrENV, and decreased levels of cell-associated gp70. Only gp70 was detected on the cell surface. The bulk of the gp70 produced in the presence of the drug was aberrantly glycosylated, and contained decreased levels of complex and increased numbers of high mannose oligosaccharides; almost all of the gp70 molecules however, contained at least one complex sugar chain. Decreased incorporation of both env and gag proteins into extracellular virions was observed, despite the fact that the gag proteins were processed normally intracellularly; in contrast, DNM treatment of Gazdar murine sarcoma virus-infected HTG2 cells, which produce only gag but not env proteins, did not inhibit the release of extracellular virus. Ultrastructural examination of FrMCF-infected cells treated with DNM indicated the presence of large numbers of intracytoplasmic vacuoles, many of which contained viral particles. These studies indicate that the normal maturation process involved in the formation of complex oligosaccharides is necessary to obtain efficient transport to the plasma membrane and proteolysis of PrEnv, and also provide evidence suggesting a role for the env proteins in regulating assembly of gag proteins into virions.

Cytoskeleton-associated Pr65gag and assembly of retrovirus temperature-sensitive mutants in chronically infected cells

Certain temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of murine leukemia virus (MuLV) were observed to be defective in virus assembly. These mutants also accumulated intracellular core protein precursor, Pr65gag, at 39 degrees, the nonpermissive temperature. At 39 degrees, virions released from cells infected with the various ts mutants also contained elevated levels of Pr65gag relative to virions released at 33 degrees, the permissive temperature. Detergent extraction of pulse-labeled cells with Nonidet P-40 (NP-40) generated an NP-40-insoluble cytoskeleton-enriched fraction. Reextraction of this fraction with deoxycholate followed by gel electrophoresis of solubilized, immunoprecipitated viral proteins showed that in Moloney MuLV (Mo-MuLV) ts3-infected cells, and in Rauscher MuLV (R-MuLV) ts17- and ts24-infected cells, increased amounts of intracellular viral Pr65gag rapidly become associated with the cytoskeleton-enriched fraction during pulse labeling at nonpermissive temperature. Furthermore, examination of cell extracts from chase-incubated cells infected with these ts mutants revealed that Pr65gag accumulated in the cytoskeleton-enriched fraction at 39 degrees but not at 33 degrees. During steady-state labeling, as much as half of the intracellular Pr65gag becomes associated with the cytoskeleton-enriched fraction (i.e., is not solubilized by NP-40) at 39 degrees. At permissive temperature only 10-15% of the intracellular Pr65gag is cytoskeleton associated. In contrast, cells infected with R-MuLV ts25 or ts26 showed little or no preferential localization of Pr65gag in the cytoskeleton-enriched cell fraction during a short pulse at 39 degrees, but Pr65gag accumulated in both the NP-40-soluble and -insoluble fractions during a chase incubation relative to the condition at 33 degrees. Based upon these and previous results (Edbauer and Naso, 1983), models for retrovirus assembly are described in which the association of Pr65gag with the cell membrane and cytoskeleton plays a critical role in virus assembly, budding, and postbudding maturation.

Isolation and characterization of a Mo-MuSV-transformed TB cell line that produces noninfectious MuSV particles with uncleaved gag protein which is processed in the presence of Mo-MuLV

A cell line, TBSV7, that produces noninfectious murine sarcoma virus (MuSV) in the absence of helper MuLV was isolated from TB cells infected with the supernatant of MuSV349 cells. These noninfectious MuSV particles with "immature" C-type virus morphology contain a 2.2 X 10(6)-Da genomic RNA and an uncleaved 62,000-Da gag precursor protein (Pr62). Neither viral envelope proteins (gp70, p15E, p12E) nor reverse transcriptase were detected in these virus particles. Pr62 was found to be phosphorylated in vivo and it could be phosphorylated in vitro with [gamma-32P]ATP, indicating that protein kinase was packaged in these noninfectious virions. In vitro processing of Pr62 to smaller molecular weight proteins could be achieved by the addition of Mo-MuLV and Nonidet P-40. The initial cleavage products were proteins with molecular weights of 38K (Pr38) and 27K (Pr27). Under optimum conditions Pr38 was cleaved to p30 and a protein band migrating with MuLV-p10, while Pr27 was cleaved to a 17,000-Da protein that migrated slower than MuLV-p15 and a protein band migrating with MuLV-p12. Pulse-chase experiments performed on TBSV7 cells superinfected with Mo-MuLV indicated that intracellular processing of Pr62 was much slower than that of Pr65. Cleavage protein products of Pr62 similar in size to the in vitro protein products were also detected in TBSV7 cells superinfected with MuLV.

Interferon-mediated inhibition of production of Gazdar murine sarcoma virus, a retrovirus lacking env proteins and containing an uncleaved gag precursor

HTG2 cells are murine sarcoma virus-transformed hamster cells. These cells continuously produce Gazdar sarcoma virus particles which are devoid of viral envelope proteins and which contain the uncleaved gag precursor polyprotein, Pr65, as their major protein constituent. Human interferon-alpha elicited an antiviral response in these cells as shown by the inhibition of replication of vesicular stomatitis virus in interferon-treated cells. Extracellular production of the retroviral particles by these cells was also inhibited by interferon in a dose-dependent manner and this inhibition was abolished by a specific antiserum to interferon. The intracellular level of Pr65 was not lowered in the interferon-treated cells, indicating that inhibition of viral protein synthesis was not responsible for inhibition of virus production. The present study suggests that interferon-mediated inhibition of retrovirus production, in general, is not a consequence of either a defective interaction between viral nucleoprotein cores and viral envelope proteins or a defect in the proteolytic processing of the gag polyprotein, since neither of these processes occurs during the morphogenesis of Gazdar particles and their production is nonetheless inhibited by interferon.

In vitro proteolytic cleavage of Gazdar murine sarcoma virus p65gag

Moloney murine leukemia virus, disrupted in concentrations of 0.1 to 0.5% Nonidet P-40, catalyzed the cleavage of p65, the gag gene polyprotein of the Gazdar strain of murine sarcoma virus, into polypeptides with sizes and antigenic determinants of murine leukemia virus-specified p30, p15, pp12, and p10. Cleavage performed in the presence of 0.15% Nonidet P-40 in water yielded polypeptides of approximately 40,000 (P40) and 25,000 (P25) Mr. In vitro cleavage performed in a buffered solution containing dithiothreitol in addition to 0.1% Nonidet P-40 allowed the efficient processing of P40 to p30 and a band migrating with p10. Immunoprecipitation with monospecific sera indicated that P40 contained p30 and p10, whereas P25 contained p15 and pp12 determinants. P40 and P25 are similar in size and antigenic properties to Pr40gag and Pr25gag observed in infected cells (Naso et al, J. Virol. 32:187-198, 1979).

Induction of immune reaction against rat embryonal carcinoma by activation of viral genome

A cell line (F3/1) derived from a rat embryonal carcinoma, originally induced in fetectomized rats injected with MSV, was found to be essentially non-immunogenic in a syngeneic host; the cells did not produce C-type virions. The MSV genome could be rescued by superinfection of F3/1 cells with endogenous C-type mouse virus and the cells were converted in a producer line-F3/1-P. The produced virus was shown to be MSV by its ability to induce focus formation in mouse fibroblasts. In contrast to its non-producer ancestor, the F3/1-P line proved to be strongly immunogenic in the syngeneic host. These results indicate the possibility of converting certain non-immunogenic tumors into immunogenic ones by the activation of dormant viral genome using xenogeneic non-oncogenic helper virus.

The 30S Moloney sarcoma virus RNA contains leukemia virus nucleotide sequences

The 50S-70S RNA of a Moloney sarcoma-leukemia virus [Mo-MSV(MLV)] complex produced by a particular mouse cell line was shown by gel electrophoresis to contain a major (97%) 30S sarcoma-specific subunit species and a minor (3%) 38S leukemia virus-specific subunit. On the basis of its sedimentation coefficient and known complexity, the 30S Mo-MSV RNA was estimated to be a unique RNA molecule of about 6000 nucleotides. Hybridization experiments using viral RNA and DNA complementary to viral RNA (cDNA) made by viral DNA polymerase indicated that the 30S Mo-MSV RNA shared 70% of its sequences with Mo-MLV, 30% with another MLV derived from Mo-MLV, and 30% with Kirsten sarcoma-xenotropic leukemia virus. The 30S Mo-MSV RNA sequences shared with these viruses were not additive. The Tm of a Mo-MSV RNA-MLV cDNA hybrid was 83 degrees C, indicating that large contiguous nucleotide sequences were shared between the two nucleic acids. Mo-MSV RNA and Mo-MLV RNA shared possibly seven of 20-30 RNAase T1-resistant oligonucleotides, while Mo-MSV RNA contained three, and Mo-MLV RNA contained at least five specific oligonucleotides. We conclude that the 30S Mo-MSV RNA molecule consists of approximately 70% (about 4200 nucleotides) Mo-MLV-specific sequences and of 30% (1800 nucleotides) Mo-MSV-specific sequences covalently linked. Our results favor the hypothesis that 30S Mo-MSV RNA was generated by recombination between Mo-MLV and other genetic elements. We discuss whether all or only the MSV-specific sequences of the 30S Mo-MSV RNA function as sarcoma genes. Mo-MLV cDNA was hybridized about 45% by unfractionated Mo-MSV (MLV) RNA at RNA/DNA ratios of up to 10, about 50% by electrophoretically purified 30S Mo-MSV RNA at RNA/DNA ratios up to 500, but close to 100% by unfractionated Mo-MSV(MLV) RNA at RNA/DNA ratios over 900. This indicated that unfractionated RNA of our Mo-MSV(MLV) contained a complete complement of Mo-MLV, albeit at a low ratio.

Spontaneous mutation of RNA tumour viruses

There are 2 categories of spontaneously occurring avian and mammalian RNA tumour virus mutants: conditional and non-conditional. 1) Conditional mutants are able to replicate in or transform cells only under certain physiological conditions or in certain cells. RNA tumour virus temperature-sensitive mutants, focus-morphology mutants, and host range mutants are spontaneously formed. Some of these conditional mutants probably arise by point mutations in the viral genome. 2) Non-conditional mutants have genetic lesions that render them inactive under all conditions. There are non-conditional spontaneous RNA tumour virus mutants that are missing either the virion envelope glycoprotein or both the envelope glycoprotein and the virion DNA polymerase. These mutants cannot replicate or transform cells. Other spontaneous non-conditional mutants can replicate but are defective in their ability to transform fibroblastoid cells. These spontaneous transformation-defective mutants can have deletions in 10-20% of the genomic RNA. Conditional mutants with an altered host range occur at a high rate of approximately 1 mutation/50 infected cell generations during DNA-to-DNA information transfer. This type of conditional mutation requires cell replication but does not occur frequently either during the original synthesis of viral DNA (RNA-to-DNA information transfer) or during the transcription of progeny viral RNA from the (RNA-to-DNA information transfer) or during the transcription of progeny viral RNA from the DNA (DNA-to-RNA information transfer). Temperature-sensitive and focus-morphology mutants also have a high rate of spontaneous formation. Non-conditional mutants missing the viral envelope glycoprotein, DNA polymerase, or transformation gene, also appear to be spontaneously formed at a high rate. Normal avian and mammalian cells contain RNA tumour virus-related genes in their DNA. It is hypothesized that these endogenous RNA tumour virus-related genes in normal cells also have a high rate of spontaneous mutation and are involved in neoplastic processes.

Murine sarcoma virus gene expression: transformants which express viral envelope glycoprotein in the absence of the major internal protein and infectious particles

Expression of the major internal protein and the envelope glycoprotein of murine C-type viruses in focus-derived lines of normal rat kidney cells infected with Kirsten murine sarcoma virus was measured by radioimmunoassay. Of the clones selected, which do not produce virus particles or the major viral structural protein, approximately half express the viral envelope glycoprotein at concentrations found in productively infected cells. Expression of the envelope glycoprotein did not appear to alter significantly the properties of the transformed cells in culture.

Oncornavirus expression in human x mouse hybrid cells segregating mouse chromosomes

Human x mouse hybrid clones obtained by fusing transformed human (VA2) cells with embryonic mouse brain cells were tested for their ability to spontaneously express type C virus particles. It had been previously shown that these hybrid cells preferentially retained human chromosomes while mouse chromosomes were lost. The culture fluid from one cell line was found to contain type C particle markers in abundance, and typical budding C particles were observed in the cells by electron microscopy. In contrast, no particle markers were detected in the culture fluid from parental cells and several other hybrid cell lines. Subclones of the virus-positive cell line continued to lose mouse chromosomes and were found to vary more than 100-fold in their culture fluid DNA polymerase activity. The hybrid cell viruses, termed HMV1, banded in a sucrose gradient between 1.14 and 1.16 g/ml, possessed viral group-specific antigens, and exhibited B-tropic host range for replication in mouse embryo cells, but did not replicate in human cells when directly applied. The virus did not transform mouse cells but was able to rescue the defective murine sarcoma virus from sarcoma-positive, helper-virus-negative cells. Activity of the DNA polymerase associated with HMV1 was similar to the activity of Rauscher murine leukemia virus (MuLV) DNA polymerase in its preference for poly(rA) over poly(dA) as a template, use of endogenous template, detergent requirement, and inhibition by antiserum directed against MuLV.DNA polymerase. The results suggest that human x mouse hybrid cells segregating mouse chromosomes can spontaneously express endogenous type C viruses and that such hybrid cell lines may be used for the isolation of latent mammalian oncornaviruses and analysis of viral gene regulation.

Properties of noninfectious and transforming viruses released by Murine sarcoma virus-induced hamster tumor cells

The cell culture lines HTG2 and HTG3 were established from a transplantable hamster tumor induced by a murine sarcoma virus (strain Gz-MSV) after 17 and 60 in vivo passages, respectively. The viruses released by these two cell lines markedly differ in morphology, antigenic composition, infectivity, transforming ability, and enzymatic activity. HTG2 virions contained the sarcoma genome but were noninfectious for mouse and hamster cells (S+H-virus). HTG3 virions transformed hamster but not mouse cells. Whereas HTG2 cells and its virus contained murine type C virus gs-1 antigen, all HTG3 clonal lines expressed both murine and hamster type C virus gs-1 antigens. The RNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity of HTG2 virus was very low, whereas that of HTG3 virus was relatively high. HTG2 virions contained electron-lucent centers only. HTG3 virus consisted of the expected mixture of virions with electron-dense and electron-lucent centers. Many broken or incomplete virions were present in both viruses. HTG2 virus is a noninfectious "defective" sarcoma virus without detectable helper virus. Data obtained in these experiments suggest that HTG3 virus is a hamster type C virus pseudotype of Gz-MSV (Gz-MSV [HaLV]). The genome of Gz-MSV is capable of antigenic expression in heterologous cells and in the presence of heterologous viruses. Attempts to chemically activate hamster type C virus (HaLV) from HTG2 cells were unsuccessful. The HTG1 cell culture line, established from another Gz-MSV-induced hamster tumor, initially released a virus indistinguishable from the HTG2 virus. After in vitro passage, spontaneous activation of HaLV occurred in HTG1 cells, and the resultant Gz-MSV (HaLV) had properties similar to those of the HTG3 virus.

Characterization of RNA from noninfectious virions produced by sarcoma positive-leukemia negative transformed 3T3 cells

RNA from noninfectious virions produced by two established clonal lines of sarcoma positive-leukemia negative (S+L-)-transformed 3T3 cells has been characterized. RNA from virions or nucleoids of S+L--(C243) cells consisted of three to four sizes: +/-44 S (6%), 28 S (17%), 18 S (38%), and <18 S (39%). 28S virion RNA contained some virus-specific information demonstrable by RNA.DNA hybridization with a DNA probe derived from the RNA-directed DNA polymerase product of murine sarcoma-leukemia virus, while parallel studies indicated that 28S ribosomal RNA from ribosomal subunits of transformed and nontransformed 3T3 cells did not contain virus-specific information. In contrast to the S+L-(C243) virions, RNA from virions or nucleoids of S+L-(D56) cells consisted of five sizes: 80 S (6%), 68 S (8%), 56 S (5%), 28 S (28%), and <28 S (53%). Thermal dissociation studies suggested that this S+L- genome is comprised of 28S RNA subunits. From these studies we postulate that the 28S viral RNA is most probably the monomeric genome of S+L- virions.

Deficiency of viral ribonucleic acid-dependent deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase in noninfectious virus-like particles released from murine sarcoma virus-transformed hamster cells

Virions from hamster cells transformed by a new strain of murine sarcoma virus (MSV) appear to represent a form of MSV deficient in one or more of the viral components necessary for infectivity. Both the noninfectious virions and the sarcoma virus-transformed cells, which have no detectable replicating leukemia helper virus of either murine or hamster origin, are deficient in viral-type ribonucleic acid (RNA)-dependent deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) polymerase activity (i.e., reverse transcriptase activity stimulated by the synthetic RNA-DNA template polyribo-adenylic-oligodeoxythymidylic acid). In comparison, both murine leukemia virus (MuLV) and MuLV-infected cells have abundant viral-type reverse transcriptase activity. It appears, therefore, that the leukemia virus genome may be required for the production of infectious sarcoma virus by contributing information needed for the full expression of functional viral-type reverse transcriptase.