Monoclonal antibodies against human myelomonocytic cells: detection of certain lineage-specific antigens on CFU-GM progenitor cells

A series of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) were raised against nonlymphoid leukemic cell lines. Three of them have been characterized in detail. mAb H8 (IgG2), mAB U2 (IgG1), and mAb ML143 (IgM) were established with HEL, an erythroleukemia cell line, U937, a monocytoid (histiocytic) line, and ML-1, a myeloid cell line as immunogen, respectively. A 65 to 75 KD polypeptide was precipitated from monocytes by mAb H8, a 160 KD protein from monocytes by mAb U2, and two broad bands in the regions of 150 and 195 KD from granulocytes by mAb ML143. All three mAb stained peripheral blood monocytes and granulocytes, but not lymphocytes, platelets, and erythrocytes. The mAb reacted with immature myeloid cells in bone marrow, ranging from myeloblasts to mature myelomonocytic cells. They also were reactive with various nonlymphoid cell lines and leukemia of myelomonocytic origin. They did not react with B cell lines and B cell CLL cells. By complement-mediated cytolysis and/or an immune rosette method, antigens H8 and U2 were found to be expressed on the vast majority of CFU-GM (14 days) progenitors but not on BFU-E. Antigen ML143 was not expressed by either progenitor. Furthermore, ML143 antigen was found on T leukemia cell lines, a subpopulation of mitogen-activated T cells, and certain non-T/non-B ALL cells. This reactivity was not found with mAb H8 and U2. The relationship between these mAb and those reported are discussed. The possibility of using these mAb to obtain a markedly enriched CFU-GM progenitor population is also raised.     

Susceptibility of nude mice carrying the Fv-4 gene to Friend murine leukemia virus infection.

Fv-4 is a mouse gene that dominantly confers resistance to infection with Friend murine leukemia virus (F-MuLV) (S. Suzuki, Jpn. J. Exp. Med. 45:473-478, 1975). Despite complete resistance to ecotropic MuLV infection in mice carrying the Fv-4 gene, it is known that cells carrying the resistance gene in tissue culture do not always show resistance as extensive as that in vivo (H. Yoshikura and T. Odaka, JNCI 61:461-463, 1978). To investigate the immunological effect on resistance in vivo, we introduced the Fv-4 gene into BALB/c nude mice (Fv-4-/- nude[nu/nu]) by mating them with Fv-4 congenic BALB/c mice (Fv-4r/r nude+/+) and examined the susceptibility of the F2 progeny to F-MuLV. All BALB/c nude mice without the Fv-4 gene (Fv-4-/- nude[nu/nu]) were permissive to F-MuLV and developed erythroleukemia within 2 weeks after virus inoculation. The BALB/c nude mice with the Fv-4 gene (Fv-4r/r nude[nu/nu]) did not develop leukemia, and no or little virus was detected in the spleen 7 weeks after virus inoculation. The resistance to F-MuLV was dominant in (Fv-4 congenic BALB/c x BALB/c nude) F1 mice with the Fv-4r/- nude(nu/+) genotype as strictly as in (Fv-4 congenic BALB/c x BALB/c) F1 mice with the Fv-4r/- nude+/+ genotype. However, almost all BALB/c nude mice with the Fv-4r/- nude(nu/nu) genotype developed the disease within 7 weeks, and the virus was detected in all of their spleens even in the mice without leukemia. These results show that the resistance caused by the Fv-4 gene is recessive in nude mice and dominant in BALB/c mice. Some immunological effects, perhaps cell-mediated immunity, may play important roles in the resistance to F-MuLV infection in vivo in addition to the dosage effect of the Fv-4 product.     

Natural resistance in mice against Friend leukemia cells. II. Studies with in vivo passaged interferon-sensitive and interferon-resistant cell clones

Experiments were designed to test the presence of antitumor natural resistance (NR) in DBA/2 mice against highly oncogenic in vivo passaged histocompatible Friend leukemia cells (FLC-V). NR was measured in vivo as rapid clearance of radiolabeled cells from different organs or as growth inhibition in lethally irradiated mice. Interferon-sensitive (745) or interferon-resistant (3C18) lines were used. Organ clearance studies showed that young recipients eliminate cells more rapidly than old mice. Moreover, depressive (e.g., cyclophosphamide or carrageenen) or enhancing (e.g., poly (I:C) or Friend leukemia virus infection) agents of NR function modulate accordingly leukemia cell clearance. Similar results were obtained testing tumor growth in lethally irradiated hosts, although modulating agents were substantially less effective in this system. Both FLC-745-V and FLC-3C18-V lines were equally susceptible to NR. Therefore, these data provide further support to the hypothesis that exogenous IFN capable of suppressing the growth of both lines could act via enhancement of the NR function.     

Conditional immortalization of mouse myelomonocytic, megakaryocytic and mast cell progenitors by the Hox-2.4 homeobox gene.

The murine myelomonocytic cell line WEHI-3B exhibits ectopic expression of the genes encoding the homeobox protein, Hox-2.4, and the myeloid growth factor, interleukin-3 (IL-3). We showed previously that concomitant expression of IL-3 and Hox-2.4 in bone marrow cells induced the development of transplantable growth factor-independent tumours resembling the WEHI-3B tumour. We have now investigated the effect of enforced expression of Hox-2.4 alone. Bone marrow cells were infected with Hox-2.4 retrovirus and then either cultured in agar or transplanted into irradiated mice. In vitro, colonies derived from virus-infected cells readily yielded IL-3-dependent, non-tumorigenic cell lines of the myelomonocytic, megakaryocytic and mast cell lineages. Surprisingly, both the establishment and maintenance of these lines required very high concentrations of IL-3 and reduced levels promoted differentiation. Transplanted mice analysed after 3 months appeared normal but their spleen and bone marrow contained abundant provirus-bearing progenitor cells, from which IL-3-dependent long-term cell lines could readily be established in vitro. Four of 18 animals monitored for up to 12 months eventually developed clonal leukaemia, associated in three cases with IL-3 production. Thus ectopic expression of Hox-2.4 enhances self-renewal of immature myeloid progenitors and progression to a fully malignant state is favoured by somatic mutations conferring autocrine production of IL-3.     

A constitutively activated erythropoietin receptor stimulates proliferation and contributes to transformation of multipotent, committed nonerythroid and erythroid progenitor cells.

If the env gene of spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) is replaced by a cDNA encoding a constitutively active form of the erythropoietin receptor, EPO-R(R129C), the resultant recombinant virus, SFFVcEPO-R, induces transient thrombocytosis and erythrocytosis in infected mice. Clonogenic progenitor cell assays of cells from the bone marrow and spleens of these infected mice suggest that EPO-R(R129C) can stimulate proliferation of committed megakaryocytic and erythroid progenitors as well as nonerythroid multipotent progenitors. From the spleens of SFFVcEPO-R-infected mice, eight multiphenotypic immortal cell lines were isolated and characterized. These included primitive erythroid, lymphoid, and monocytic cells. Some expressed proteins characteristic of more than one lineage. All cell lines resulting from SFFVcEPO-R infection contained a mutant form of the p53 gene. However, in contrast to infection by SFFV, activation of PU.1 gene expression, by retroviral integration, was not observed. One cell line had integrated a provirus upstream of the fli-1 gene, in a location typically seen in erythroleukemic cells generated by Friend murine leukemia virus infection. This event led to increased expression of fli-1 in this cell line. Thus, infection by SFFVcEPO-R can induce proliferation and lead to transformation of nonerythroid as well as very immature erythroid progenitor cells. The sites of proviral integration in clonal cell lines are distinct from those in SFFV-derived lines.     

Helper-Dependent Properties of Friend Spleen Focus-Forming Virus: Effect of the Fv-1 Gene on the Late Stages in Virus Synthesis

Co-infection of neonatal BALB/c mice with Friend virus (FV) complex (containing defective spleen focus-forming virus [SFFV] and endogenous N-tropic leukemia-inducing helper virus [LLV-F]) and B-tropic Tennant leukemia virus (TenLV) resulted in the inhibition of LLV-F by the Fv-1(b) gene and recovery of a TenLV pseudotype of SFFV, abbreviated SFFV(TenLV). The host range of this pseudotype was B-tropic, since SFFV(TenLV) was 10 to 100 times more infectious for B-type (Fv-1(bb)) than for N-type (Fv-1(nn)) mice. The similar patterns of neutralization of N-tropic and B-tropic SFFV by type-specific murine antisera suggested that the difference in infectivity between these two SFFV preparations did not reside in envelope determinants. Rather, helper control of SFFV's host range was only apparent and dependent upon the ability of associated virus to provide a helper function for late stages in SFFV synthesis. Early stages in SFFV's infectious cycle were shown to be helper independent. The Fv-1 gene did not act at the level of the cell membrane to effectively restrict SFFV infection, since SFFV-induced transformed cells could be detected in the absence of spleen focus formation and SFFV synthesis. Further, the generation of these transformed cells by SFFV followed a one-hit, dose-response pattern, suggesting that SFFV-induced cell transformation is helper independent. Finally, restriction of helper function by Fv-1 may be an intracellular event, because both SFFV and its associated LLV-F helper share common envelope determinants and presumably adsorb onto and penetrate target cells with equal efficiency.     

Transgenic Fv-4 mice resistant to Friend virus.

Fv-4 is a mouse gene that confers resistance to infection with ecotropic retroviruses. A candidate Fv-4 gene was cloned previously and found to resemble the 3' half of a murine leukemia virus (MuLV). To study the effect of this gene in vivo, we generated two transgenic mouse strains carrying the Fv-4 env gene under control of its presumed natural promoter, a cellular sequence unrelated to retroviruses. Transgenic progeny expressed a 3-kb Fv-4 env RNA in all of the organs and tissues examined, as well as an Fv-4 envelope antigen on the surface of thymocytes and spleen cells, similar to mice carrying the natural Fv-4 gene. One of the two transgenic strains (designated Fv4-2) expressed three to nine times as much transgene RNA and protein as the other strain (Fv4-11). When challenged with a Friend virus complex containing up to 10(4) XC PFU of Friend MuLV, Fv4-2 mice were completely resistant to development of splenomegaly and had no detectable ecotropic virus in the spleen or blood, confirming that the cloned Fv-4 gene is responsible for resistance to ecotropic MuLV in vivo. In contrast, Fv4-11 mice were only partially resistant, developing viremia and splenomegaly at the highest inoculum dose but recovering from viremia several weeks after inoculation with 10-fold less virus. The phenotype of recovery from viremia in Fv4-11 mice was unexpected and suggests that low levels of expression of the Fv-4 gene enhance the effectiveness of the immune response.     

Altered interleukin production during Friend leukemia virus infection

Spleen cells from BALB/c mice, infected 14 to 28 days earlier with Friend leukemia virus (FLV), were shown to be inhibited in their ability to produce interleukin 2 (IL-2) when stimulated with mitogen. Likewise, these spleen cell populations failed to respond following mitogenic stimulation or exogenous addition of recombinant IL-2. By contrast, the FLV-infected spleen cell populations produced normal levels of interleukin 1 (IL-1) and thymocytes from FLV-infected mice responded normally to addition of exogenous IL-1. This suggests that FLV infection selectively affects the ability of spleen cells to produce cytokines. Spleen cell populations enriched for T lymphocytes and depleted of tumor cells by density gradient centrifugation in Ficoll were unable to produce IL-2. This indicates that the failure to detect IL-2 in cells from FLV-infected mice was not due to a dilution of T lymphocytes by tumor cells but was a functional inability to produce IL-2. Furthermore, enriched T lymphocytes from FLV-infected mice failed to respond blastogenically to exogenous IL-2. Additional studies indicate that tumor cells, but not macrophages or T lymphocytes from FLV-infected spleens, suppressed the blastogenic response to mitogens and IL-2 production by normal splenic T lymphocytes.     

The mast cell-committed progenitor. II. W/Wv mice do not make mast cell-committed progenitors and S1/S1d fibroblasts do not support development of normal mast cell-committed progenitors

We have previously reported that the population of mesenteric lymph node cells from normal BALB/c mice infected 14 days with the rodent nematode Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (Nb-MLN) contains a nongranulated mast cell-committed progenitor (MCCP) which does not require IL-3 for proliferation and differentiation if either a fibroblast monolayer or soluble factors produced by monolayers of 3T3 fibroblasts or embryonic skin are present in the culture. When Nb-MLN were cloned in a methylcellulose culture system using fibroblast conditioned medium as the only source of growth factors, numerous colonies of pure mast cells developed. We wished to determine whether the mast cell deficiency of W/Wv or S1/S1d mice could be explained by the failure of these mice to make either the MCCP or the factor to support proliferation and differentiation of the MCCP. We found that Nb-MLN from W/Wv mice were only able to produce mast cell colonies in response to a source of IL-3 such as conditioned medium from pokeweed mitogen-stimulated spleen cells (CM), and cultures given fibroblast conditioned medium as the only source of growth factors did not produce mast cell colonies. In contrast, Nb-MLN from mast cell deficient S1/S1d mice developed many mast cell colonies in methylcellulose cultures supplemented with either fibroblast conditioned medium or conditioned medium from PWM-stimulated spleen cells. These data suggest that S1/S1d mice but not W/Wv mice produce the mast cell progenitor that responds to fibroblast conditioned medium. To determine if mast cell deficient mice make the fibroblast derived factors that support development of the MCCP, monolayers were prepared from skin connective tissues of S1/S1d and W/Wv mice and Nb-MLN from normal BALB/c mice were cloned in the presence of conditioned medium from these monolayers. Fibroblast conditioned medium from monolayers prepared from W/Wv but not S1/S1d mice supported development of numerous mast cell colonies. Taken together, these data demonstrate that W/Wv mice are incapable of producing normal MCCP whereas S1/S1d fibroblasts fail to produce the appropriate factor to support the MCCP. In accordance with these data, a candidate for the gene product of each of these mutant alleles is discussed.     

Immunity to virus-free syngeneic tumor cell transplantation in the BALB/c mouse after immunization with homologous tumor cells infected with type C virus.

Syngeneic tumor cell lines free of endogenous type C virus or viral antigen antigen expression were derived from spontaneously occurring tumors of the BALB/cCr mouse. Two cell lines free of endogenous type C virus were examined and found to be highly tumorigenic in tumor growth kinetic studies. In vitro inoculation of these cell lines with Rauscher-murine leukemia virus (R-MuLV) resulted in their chronic infection in which 95 to 100% of the cells were scored as virus positive. These infected lines showed a highly significant increase in their immunogenicity as compared to their uninfected controls. Animals in which these virus-positive tumors regressed were then shown to be highly resistant to challenge with the uninfected tumor cell lines as well as to live R-MuLV. This observed resistance to uninfected tumor cell lines could not be induced by immunization of the mouse with uninfected tumor cells and R-MuLV simultaneously at the same injection site, nor could it be induced with lethally irradiated virus-infected tumor cells, subtumorigenic doses of uninfected cells, or inactivated R-MuLV or Gross leukemia virus (G-MuLV). Cell-mediated cytotoxicity studies revealed that spleen cells obtained from animals whose virus-infected tumors regressed were cytotoxic to homologous infected and uninfected tumor cells as well as to other uninfected tumor cell lines syngeneic to the BALB/c mouse. Correlation of in vitro cytotoxicity with in vivo immunity was provided by the Winn assay, by inoculation into susceptible mice of immune and nonimmune spleen cells premixed with uninfected tumor cells. The immune cells were highly effective in preventing this tumor cell transplantation. It was concluded that type-C virus infection of these syngeneic tumor cells resulted in their acquiring strong transplantation antigens that were in part due to the virion, but were at least in part due to alterations of antigens or haptens that are present in a less immunogenic form on the uninfected tumor cell.     

Purification of a factor inducing differentiation in murine myelomonocytic leukemia cells. Identification as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor

A naturally occurring inducer of terminal differentiation in a murine myelomonocytic leukemia cell line (WEHI-3B) was purified to apparent homogeneity from medium conditioned by lungs from mice injected with bacterial endotoxin. The factor was purified over 400,000-fold by sequential fractionation using salting out chromatography, chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose, gel filtration on Bio-Gel P-60 in 1 M acetic acid, reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography on a phenyl-silica column, and high performance liquid chromatography on a gel filtration column. During the first two steps, the differentiation-inducing factor was separated completely from a known proliferative regulator for normal myeloid cells, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, but it co-purified through all remaining steps with a distinct granulocyte-specific colony-stimulating factor. The purified factor showed a single protein band of Mr = 24,000-25,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels coincident with both differentiation-inducing and granulocyte colony-stimulating activity. The granulocyte-specific colony-stimulating factor was active on WEHI-3B cells and normal granulocytic progenitor cells in vitro at the same half-maximally active concentration of 3 X 10(-12) M.     

小鼠LAK细胞对粒—单系祖细胞增殖的影响

Murine lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells were generated from spleen cells of C57/BL6 mice by culture of spleen cells in vitro for 72 hours in medium containing 500 units/ml recombinant human interleukin 2 (IL-2), and effects of these LAK cells on proliferation of syngenic myeloid progenitor cells (CFU-GM) were observed. After 3 days culture, LAK cells were assayed for their cytotoxicity in a 4 hours 51Cr-release test. Either natural killer (NK) cell sensitive YAC-1 lymphoma cells or NK cell resistant LP-3 and WEHI-164 fibrosarcoma cells were efficiently lysed by murine LAK cells. When LAK cells were added into culture system in a final concentration of 5 x 10(4)/ml, 2 x 10(5)/ml, 8 x 10(5)/ml, CFU-GM were increased by 55.2%, 165.5%, and 194.4% of control respectively. LAK-CM also showed augmentative effect on CFU-GM growth. When 10% (v/v) of LAK-CM were added into culture system, CFU-GM were increased by 51.4% of control, but LAK-CM alone could not stimulate CFU-GM growth. Again, effects of LAK-BMC interaction on CFU-GM formation were investigated. CFU-GM were inhibited to 27.6% of control when 1 x 10(5) BMC were mixed with 8 x 10(5) LAK cells and incubated for 4 hours prior to CFU-GM culture. These data suggest that (1) LAK cells may secrete co-CSF which showed synergistic effect with CSF on CFU-GM proliferation: (2) When LAK cells contact with BMC, they showed significant cytotoxicity to myeloid progenitor cells which mediated decrease of CFU-GM formation.     

Identification of a spleen focus-forming virus in erythroleukemic mice infected with a wild-mouse ecotropic murine leukemia virus

An NFS/N mouse inoculated at birth with an ecotropic murine leukemia virus (MuLV) obtained from wild mice (Cas-Br-M MuLV) developed a lymphoma after 18 weeks. An extract prepared from the lymphomatous spleen was inoculated into newborn NFS/N mice, and these mice developed erythroleukemia within 9 weeks. Spleens from the erythroleukemic mice contained ecotropic and mink cell focus-inducing (MCF) MuLVs; however, when these viruses were biologically cloned and reinoculated into newborn NFS/N mice, no erythroleukemia was induced. In contrast, cell-free extracts prepared from the erythroleukemic spleens induced erythroleukemia within 5 weeks. Analysis of cell-free extracts prepared from the erythroleukemic spleens showed that they contained a viral species that induced splenomegaly and spleen focus formation in adult mice, with susceptibility controlled by alleles at the Fv-2 locus. The spleen focus-forming virus coded for a 50,000-dalton protein precipitated by antibodies specific to MCF virus gp70. RNA blot hybridization studies showed the genomic viral RNA to be 7.5 kilobases and to hybridize strongly to a xenotropic or MCF envelope-specific probe but not to hybridize with an ecotropic virus envelope-specific probe. The virus described here appears to be the fourth independent isolate of a MuLV with spleen focus-forming activity.     

Fv-2 locus controls the proportion of erythropoietic progenitor cells (BFU-E) synthesizing DNA in normal mice

We have found that Fv-2 on chromosome 9 of the mouse, the locus originally identified as a major determinant of host susceptibility (Fv-2^s) or resistance (Fv-2^r) to Friend leukemia virus in mice, also functions in uninfected animals, where it determines whether a high (Fv-2^s) or low (Fv-2^r) proportion of erythropoietic progenitor cells BFU-E are normally engaged in DNA synthesis. Adult mice belonging to five inbred strains of genotype Fv-2^rr, two inbred strains and three congenic strains of genotype Fv-2^ss, two kinds of F1 hybrid of genotype Fv-2^rs, and appropriate controls were given high specific activity ³H-thymidine intravenously for 1 hr and their bone marrow and spleen cells were assayed for surviving BFU-E at 7 days and CFU-E at 2 days in plasma culture. A high proportion of BFU-E in all Fv-2^ss and Fv-2^rs mice were killed, but all or nearly all of the BFU-E in Fv-2^rr mice survived exposure to ³H-thymidine. The allelic difference at Fv-2 had no significant effect on the proportion of other progenitor or stem cells (CFU-E, CFU-C or CFU-S) normally undergoing DNA synthesis in the hemopoietic tissues, or on the hemoglobin concentration, red blood cells, hematocrit, total or differential white blood cell counts in the peripheral blood of these animals. While a few or no BFU-E were killed by ³H-thymidine in adult B6 (Fv-2^rr) mice, a high proportion of BFU-E were killed by ³H-thymidine in these animals when they were less than 7 weeks old. Bleeding of adult B6 mice or lethal irradiation followed by repopulation by syngeneic bone marrow cells rendered a high proportion of their BFU-E vulnerable to ³H-thymidine. BFU-E of adult B6 mice which in vivo were unaffected by ³H-thymidine were rapidly killed when exposed to ³H-thymidine in vitro. Fv-2 thus seems to act at or near the G₁-S or G₀-S boundary to influence the rate or probability of transition between the nonDNA-synthesizing and the DNA-synthesizing states of BFUE. The gene that controls susceptibility or resistance to a murine erythroleukemia virus appears also to be a regulatory gene that controls the proliferative behaviour of normal cells at a specific stage of erythropoietic differentiation.     

Human T-cell leukemia virus infection of human hematopoietic progenitor cells: maintenance of virus infection during differentiation in vitro and in vivo.

Human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-1) is the etiologic agent of adult T-cell leukemia and lymphoma and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy-tropical spastic paraparesis. We examined whether HTLV could productively infect human hematopoietic progenitor cells. CD34+ cells were enriched from human fetal liver cells and cocultivated with cell lines transformed with HTLV-1 and -2. HTLV-1 infection was established in between 10 and >95% of the enriched CD34+ cell population, as demonstrated by quantitative PCR analysis. HTLV-1 p19 Gag expression was also detected in infected hematopoietic progenitor cells. HTLV-1-infected hematopoietic progenitor cells were cultured in semisolid medium permissive for the development of erythbroid (BFU-E), myeloid (CFU-GM), and primitive progenitor (CFU-GEMM, HPP-CFC, or CFU-A) colonies. HTLV-1 sequences were detected in colonies of all hematopoietic lineages; furthermore, the ratio of HTLV genomes to the number of human cells in each infected colony was 1:1, consistent with each colony arising from a single infected hematopoietic progenitor cell. Severe combined immunodeficient mice engrafted with human fetal thymus and liver tissues (SCID-hu) develop a conjoint organ which supports human thymocyte differentiation and maturation. Inoculation of SCID-hu mice with HTLV-1-infected T cells or enriched populations of CD34+ cells established viral infection of thymocytes 4 to 6 weeks postreconstitution. Thymocytes from two mice with the greatest HTLV-1 proviral burdens showed increased expression of the CD25 marker and the interleukin 2 receptor alpha chain and perturbation of CD4+ and CD8+ thymocyte subset distribution profiles. Hematopoietic progenitor cells and thymuses may be targets for HTLV infection in humans, and these events may play a role in the pathogenesis associated with infection.     

Genetic control of the induction of cytolytic T lymphocyte responses to AKR/Gross viral leukemias. II. Negative control by the Fv-1 locus in AKR mice of responder H-2b haplotype

To assess whether the presence of a responder H-2b haplotype would be sufficient to allow mice of nonresponder "high leukemic" phenotype to generate syngeneic anti-AKR/Gross virus cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL), the AKR.H-2b strain was examined. Although capable of mounting vigorous apparent anti-minor histocompatibility-specific CTL responses, AKR.H-2b mice failed to produce anti-viral CTL after a variety of stimulation protocols. In contrast, the "doubly congenic" AKR.H-2b:Fv-1b strain was able to respond with substantial levels of H-2-restricted anti-AKR/Gross virus CTL activity. These results indicated that Fv-1n alleles could exert negative epistatic control over responder H-2b-encoded gene(s). Because the B6.Fv-1n congenic was also able to generate anti-viral CTL indistinguishable from the prototype B6 strain, however, it was apparent that other genes of AKR background were required for the Fv-1n-mediated inhibition in AKR.H-2b mice. The mechanism by which Fv-1 intereacted with other genes to override positive H-2b control appeared to be related to the expression of the CTL-defined, virus-associated antigens by normal AKR.H-2b cells. Thus, AKR.H-2b spleen cells but not thymus cells were able to stimulate the production of B6 anti-AKR/Gross virus CTL and were recognized as target cells by such anti-viral CTL. In contrast, both spleen cells and thymocytes from AKR.H-2b:Fv-1b mice were negative when tested as stimulator or target cells in these assays. In addition, AKR.H-2b but not AKR.H-2b:Fv-1b spleen cells were shown to display serologically defined gp70 determinants and the Gross cell surface antigen. Taking these data together, it appeared that the inhibition of anti-viral CTL responsiveness might be due to tolerance induced by the cell surface expression of virus-associated antigens by normal AKR.H-2b cells. Widespread display of viral antigens, in turn, may have been due to the permissive effects of Fv-1n on the spread of the early arising N-ecotropic, endogenous AKR leukemia virus controlled by other background genes. In this context, the implications of the multi-gene control of anti-AKR/Gross virus CTL production are discussed with respect to the induction of spontaneous leukemia in the high incidence AKR strain.     

A Friend virus mutant that overcomes Fv-2rr host resistance encodes a small glycoprotein that dimerizes, is processed to cell surfaces, and specifically activates erythropoietin receptors.

The env gene of Friend spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) encodes a membrane glycoprotein (gp55) that is inefficiently (3 to 5%) processed from the rough endoplasmic reticulum to form a larger dimeric plasma membrane derivative (gp55p). Moreover, the SFFV env glycoprotein associates with erythropoietin receptors (EpoR) to cause proliferation of infected erythroblasts [J.-P. Li, A. D. D'Andrea, H. F. Lodish, and D. Baltimore, Nature (London) 343:762-764, 1990]. Interestingly, the mitogenic effect of SFFV is blocked in mice homozygous for the Fv-2r resistance gene, but mutant SFFVs can overcome this resistance. Recent evidence suggested that these mutants contain partial env deletions that truncate the membrane-proximal extracellular domain of the encoded glycoproteins (M. H. Majumdar, C.-L. Cho, M. T. Fox, K. L. Eckner, S. Kozak, D. Kabat, and R. W. Geib, J. Virol. 66:3652-3660, 1992). Mutant BB6, which encodes a gp42 glycoprotein that has a large deletion in this domain, causes erythroblastosis in DBA/2 (Fv-2s) as well as in congenic D2.R (Fv-2r) mice. Analogous to gp55, gp42 is processed inefficiently as a disulfide-bonded dimer to form cell surface gp42p. Retroviral vectors with SFFV and BB6 env genes have no effect on interleukin 3-dependent BaF3 hematopoietic cells, but they cause growth factor independency of BaF3/EpoR cells, a derivative that contains recombinant EpoR. After binding 125I-Epo to surface EpoR on these factor-independent cells and adding the covalent cross-linking reagent disuccinimidyl suberate, complexes that had immunological properties and sizes demonstrating that they consisted of 125I-Epo-gp55p and 125I-Epo-gp42p were isolated from cell lysates. Contrary to a previous report, SFFV or BB6 env glycoproteins did not promiscuously activate other members of the EpoR superfamily. Although the related env glycoproteins encoded by dualtropic murine leukemia viruses formed detectable complexes with EpoR, strong mitogenic signalling did not ensue. Our results indicate that the SFFV and BB6 env glycoproteins specifically activate EpoR; they help to define the glycoprotein properties important for its functions; and they strongly suggest that the Fv-2 leukemia control gene encodes an EpoR-associated regulatory factor.     

Fv-1 determinants in xenotropic murine leukemia viruses studied with biological assay systems: Isolation of xenotropic virus with N-tropic Fv-1 activity in the cryptic form.

By a biological assay system using phenotypically mixed ecotropic and xenotropic murine leukemia viruses, we investigated whether in the virions of a xenotropic virus there is N- or B-tropic Fv-1 determinant in active form. The existence of N-tropic Fv-1 determinant was demonstrated in SL-XT-1 xenotropic virus isolated from the spleen of a 3-month-old SL mouse, and the N-tropic Fv-1 tropism was confirmed by analysis of the phenotypically mixed viruses harvested from clonal SC-1 cells doubly infected with the SL-XT-1 and B-tropic ecotropic viruses. However, neither N- nor B-tropic Fv-1 determinant was demonstrated in any xenotropic viruses isolated from embryo cells of BALB/c, NZB, or DBA/2 mice, or Cas E #1-IU, and xenotropic-like virus isolated from a wild mouse.