Isolation of sarcoma virus from noninbred rats

The data are presented on the activation of endogenous retrovirus in vaccinia virus--malignant transformed cells of rat tissue culture. Infection of the cells by Mazurenko mouse leukemia virus induced rat sarcoma virus. The latter was formed as a result of recombination of sarcoma virus-specific sequences received from the rat cells malignantly transformed by vaccinia virus and virus-helper (Mazurenko mouse leukemia virus).     

Effective postexposure treatment of retrovirus-induced disease with immunostimulatory DNA containing CpG motifs

Therapeutic strategies for the treatment of acute retroviral infections have relied mainly on antiviral drugs. In this study we used the Friend virus model system to demonstrate that enhancement of the immune system can also have dramatic therapeutic effects. Since resistance to Friend virus-induced leukemia in mice is associated with T helper cell type 1 (Th1) immune responses, we enhanced these responses in susceptible mice by treatment with synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides containing unmethylated CpG motifs (CpG-ODN). Treatments begun at 4 days postinfection increased recovery from 6% in the control group to 74% in the CpG-treated group. CpG-mediated recovery was associated with a significant reduction of viral loads in the blood and spleens of treated mice compared to those of control animals. The treatment promoted Th1-type cytokine production by splenocytes of Friend virus-infected mice and augmented Friend virus-specific cytotoxic T-cell responses, but no influence on the virus-specific neutralizing antibody response was observed. Friend virus-specific CD8(+) T cells were critical for effective treatment with CpG-ODN, since in vivo depletion of these cells from treated mice prevented their recovery. Our results demonstrate that CpG-ODN therapy can significantly enhance virus-specific cellular immune responses and prevent retrovirus-induced disease. These findings may have implications for antiviral therapy in general.     

RNA metabolism of murine leukemia virus: detection of virus-specific RNA sequences in infected and uninfected cells and identification of virus-specific messenger RNA

Virus-specific RNA sequences were detected in mouse cells infected with murine leukemia virus by hybridization with radioactively labeled DNA complementary to Moloney murine leukemia virus RNA. The DNA was synthesized in vitro using the endogenous virion RNA-dependent DNA polymerase and the DNA product was characterized by size and its ability to protect radioactive viral RNA. Virus-specific RNA sequences were found in two lines of leukemia virus-infected cells (JLS-V11 and SCRF 60A) and also in an uninfected line (JLS-V9). Approximately 0.3% of the cytoplasmic RNA in JLS-VII cells was virus-specific and 0.9% of SCRF 60A cell RNA was virus-specific. JLS-V9 cells contained approximately tenfold less virus-specific RNA than infected JLS-VII cells. Moloney leukemia virus DNA completely annealed to JLS-VII or SCRF 60A RNA but only partial annealing was observed with JLS-V9 RNA. This difference is ascribed to non-homologies between the RNA sequences of Moloney virus and the endogenous virus of JLS-V9 cells.Virus-specific RNA was found to exist in infected cells in three major size classes: 60–70 S RNA, 35 S RNA and 20–30 S RNA. The 60–70 S RNA was apparently primarily at the cell surface, since agents which remove material from the cell surface were effective in removing a majority of the 60–70 S RNA. The 35 S and 20–30 S RNA is relatively unaffected by these procedures. Sub-fractionation of the cytoplasm indicated that approximately 35% of the cytoplasmic virus-specific RNA in infected cells is contained in the membrane-bound material. The membrane-bound virus-specific RNA consists of some residual 60–70 S RNA and 35 S RNA, but very little 20–30 S RNA. Virus-specific messenger RNA was identified in polyribosome gradients of infected cell cytoplasm. Messenger RNA was differentiated from other virus-specific RNAs by the criterion that virus-specific messenger RNA must change in sedimentation rate following polyribosome disaggregation. Two procedures for polyribosome disaggregation were used: treatment with EDTA and in vitro incubation of polyribosomes with puromycin in conditions of high ionic strength. As identified by this criterion, the virus-specific messenger RNA appeared to be mostly 35 S RNA. No function for the 20–30 S was determined.     

Virus-specific RNA synthesis in interferon-treated mouse cells productively infected with Moloney murine leukemia virus.

Mouse cells productively infected with Moloney murine leukemia virus were treated with interferon, and intracellular virus-specific RNA was studied by hybridization with complementary DNA. The steady-state concentration of virus-specific RNA in interferon-treated cells was somewhat greater than that in untreated cells, and the rates of virus-specific RNA synthesis were approximately equal in treated and untreated cells.     

Mechanism of Mengo Virus-Induced Cell Injury in L Cells: Use of Inhibitors of Protein Synthesis to Dissociate Virus-Specific Events

L cells were infected with Mengo virus in the presence of varying concentrations of protein synthesis inhibitors (azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, p-fluorophenylalanine, puromycin), and examined with respect to the effects of the inhibitors on several features of virus-induced cell injury. The virus-specific events in the cells could be dissociated into three groups, based on their sensitivity to the inhibitors: (i) viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis, bulk viral protein synthesis, and infectious particle production, all of which were prevented by low inhibitor concentrations; (ii) the cytopathic effect (CPE) and stimulation of phosphatidylcholine synthesis, which were sensitive to intermediate concentrations of the inhibitors; and (iii) the virus-induced inhibitions of host RNA and protein synthesis, which were resistart to the inhibitors of protein synthesis except at very high concentrations. It is concluded from this that the virus-induced CPE and stimulation of phosphatidylcholine synthesis are not consequences of the inhibition of cellular RNA or protein synthesis. Analysis of the virus-specific protein and RNA synthesized at several concentrations of azetidine and puromycin suggests that the CPE may be induced by a viral protein precursor. Virus-induced inhibition of host RNA and protein synthesis occurred at azetidine concentrations which blocked the synthesis of over 99.7% of the total viral RNA and over 99% of the viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Calculations show that this would correspond to less than 150 dsRNA molecules per infected cell, resulting in a dsRNA-polysome ratio of less than 1:1,000; this indicates that host protein synthesis cannot be inhibited by an irreversible binding of dsRNA to polysomes.     

RNA metabolism of murine leukemia virus. III. Identification and quantitation of endogenous virus-specific mRNA in the uninfected BALB/c cell line JLS-V9.

mRNA containing type C endogenous virus-specific sequences was indentified in JLS-V9 cells (an uninfected BALB/c-derived cell line) by annealing extracted RNA with 3H-labeled virus-specific DNA. The criterion for virus-specific RNA being mRNA was that it co-sedimented with polyribosomes in a sucrose gradient and that it changed to lower sedimentation value if polyribosomes were disagregated prior to centrifugation. It was not possible to identify virus-specific mRNA in unfractionated cytoplasm from JLS-V9 cells since large amounts of virus-specific ribonucleoprotein which was not mRNA had sedimentation values similar to polyribosomes and obscured the analysis. Virus-specific mRNA could be readily identified in polyribosomes which had been purified through a step gradient of 1 and 2 M sucrose, and consisted of two species with sedimentation values of 38S and 27S. The amount of virus-specific RNA in different JLS-V9 cell fractions was quantitated in comparison to cell fractions obtained from M-MuLV clone no. 1 cells (a line of NIH 3T3 cells producing Moloney murine leukemia virus). Approximately 40% of the total virus-specific mRNA was recovered in the purified polyribosomes in M-MuLV no. 1 cells. The amount of virus-specific RNA on polyribosomes appeared to be quite similar for JLS-V9 cells and M-MuLV clone no.1 cells .In contrast, the level of virus-specific protein in JLS-V9 cells (as monitored by radioimmunoassay of the internal structural protein p30) was less than 2% the level in the M-MuLV clone no. 1 cells.     

Size of murine RNA tumor virus-specific nuclear RNA molecules.

About 1% of the total RNA of cell lines producing murine leukemia virus is virus-specific RNA. About one-third of the virus-specific RNA is located within the nucleus. The size distribution of virus-specific RNA was determined before and after denaturation. Before denaturation, virus-specific RNA sequences sedimented as a heterogeneous population of RNA molecules, some of which sedimented very rapidly. After denaturation, most of the virus-specific RNA had a sedimentation coefficient of 35S or lower, but a small fraction of the nuclear virus-specific RNA sedimented more rapidly than 35S RNA even after denaturation.     

TGF-beta 2 reduces demyelination, virus antigen expression, and macrophage recruitment in a viral model of multiple sclerosis

TGF-beta 2 is a potent immunoregulatory mediator that influences B cell, T cell, and macrophage function. To test whether this cytokine alters pathology in a model of virus-induced demyelinating disease, we treated SJL/J mice with TGF-beta 2 either before or after infection with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus. Treatment continued three times weekly through day 35 postinfection. TGF-beta 2 administration resulted in significantly smaller lesions and fewer virus Ag-positive cells in the spinal cords of infected SJL/J mice. Mice treated with TGF-beta 2 had similar levels of virus-specific IgG as infected, control-treated mice. TGF-beta 2 administration significantly increased the level of non-virus-specific activated CTLs, but had no effect on virus-specific CTLs. TUNEL revealed a decrease in the number of apoptotic nuclei in the spinal cord white matter of mice treated in vivo with TGF-beta 2. Immunostaining with an Ab to F4/80 revealed that TGF-beta 2-treated mice had significantly fewer F4/80-positive cells in the white matter of the spinal cord as compared with infected control-treated mice. These data suggest that TGF-beta 2 may control virus-induced demyelination via an immunomodulatory mechanism that reduces macrophage infiltration.     

Murine Virus-Induced Proteins Synthesized by Hamster Tumor Cells Transformed by, But Not Producing, Murine Sarcoma Virus

The 8303 hamster tumor cells transformed by Moloney strain of murine sarcoma virus (M-MSV), but which do not produce virus, do contain murine virus-induced proteins. The virus-induced proteins within the cell were identified either as free proteins or in association with membranous material, including the plasma membrane. In addition, some were excreted by the 8303 hamster tumor cells into the growth medium. Most virus-induced proteins were larger than 68,000 daltons, and they did not dissociate into components of smaller size in the presence of detergent and a reducing agent. A small amount of virus-induced protein with a molecular weight of less than 20,000 was also found in the hamster tumor cells. No virus-specific proteins with the identical antigenic specificity or size of the major internal group specific antigen (molecular weight about 30,000) of the murine leukemia viruses were present in these cells. There is a common cell surface antigen present in three other tumor cell lines, both virus-producing and non-virus-producing, identical in reactivity to that of the murine virus-induced antigen of the 8303 hamster tumor cell. This antigen is not present on the cell surface of normal mouse embryo cells.     

Virus-specific Ribonucleic Acid Synthesis in KB Cells Infected with Herpes Simplex Virus

The production of virus-specific ribonucleic acid (RNA) was investigated in KB cells infected with herpes simplex virus. A fraction of RNA annealable to virus deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was found in these cells as early as 3 hr after virus inoculation. Production of this species of RNA increased up to 6 or 7 hr after infection, at which time elaboration of virus messenger RNA (mRNA) declined. At 24 hr after infection, the rate of incorporation of uridine into this RNA was approximately one-half of the rate present at 6 hr after inoculation. Nucleotide analysis of the RNA annealable to virus DNA was compatible with that expected for virus mRNA. Centrifugation showed considerable spread in the size of the virus-induced nucleic acid, the bulk of this RNA sedimenting between 12 and 32S. Incorporation of uridine into cell mRNA, ribosomal precursor RNA, and soluble RNA was suppressed rapidly after infection. As is the case with most other cytocidal viruses investigated to date, virus-induced suppression of cell RNA synthesis appears to be a primary mechanism of cell injury.     

Role of macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha in T-cell-mediated immunity to viral infection

The immune response to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in mice lacking macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha) was evaluated. Generation of virus-specific effector T cells is unimpaired in MIP-1alpha-deficient mice. Furthermore, MIP-1alpha is not required for T-cell-mediated virus control or virus-induced T-cell-dependent inflammation. Thus, MIP-1alpha is not mandatory for T-cell-mediated antiviral immunity.     

T lymphocyte tolerance and early appearance of virus-induced cell surface antigens in Moloney-murine leukemia virus neonatally injected mice

Regression of Moloney-murine sarcoma virus- (M-MSV) induced sarcomas in normal adult mice is accompanied by generation of virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). However, when neonatal mice that were injected with Moloney-murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV carrier) were subsequently challenged as adults with M-MSV, the sarcomas did not regress nor did they generate CTL. This failure to produce CTL cannot be ascribed to nonspecific immunodepressive effects or to suppressor cell generation since M-MuLV carrier mice exhibit normal reactivity after allogeneic cell stimulation. Moreover, addition of M-MuLV-infected cells as the third party to cultures does not reduce activity of CTL from M-MSV immune mice. Since M-MSV and M-MuLV possess common antigens, the observed unresponsiveness was considered in relationship to induction of a T lymphocyte tolerance, which may follow introduction of foreign antigens at an early stage of development. In fact, it was observed that as early as 10 days after injection, thymus, lymph node, and spleen from M-MuLV carrier mice express virus-induced cell-surface antigens that not only are targets for M-MSV-immune CTL, but also induce in vitro a strong specific cytotoxic response. In addition, a cold target inhibition assay disclosed that the same antigens are shared by both M-MuLV infected and leukemia cells, even though they are less expressed on the surface of the former. The finding that the cytotoxicity of alloreactive lymphocytes from M-MuLV carrier mice is reduced after preincubation with M-MSV immune CTL confirms that virus infection does not bring about functional inactivation of lymphocytes. Finally, it was observed that virus antigen presence on lymphocytes from M-MuLV neonatally injected mice is closely related to subsequent leukemia development.     

Enhanced susceptibility to cytotoxic T lymphocytes of target cells isolated from virus-infected or interferon-treated mice

Bone marrow cells and thymocytes isolated from virus-infected or interferon (IFN)-treated mice had marked increases in sensitivity to lysis by allospecific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and in expression of class I histocompatibility antigens. Cultured fibroblasts treated with IFN in vitro yielded similar findings in addition to having increased sensitivity to lysis by virus-specific CTL. This indicates that virus-induced IFN may condition target cells in vivo for surveillance by CTL.     

Gamma interferon is a major mediator of antiviral defense in experimental measles virus-induced encephalitis.

Measles virus infection of the central nervous system in the murine model of experimental measles virus-induced encephalitis is successfully controlled by virus-specific T-helper lymphocytes. T cells from BALB/c mice that are resistant to measles virus encephalitis proliferate well against measles virus in vitro, and bulk cultures recognize viral nucleocapsid and hemagglutinin as well as fusion proteins. The measles virus-specific T cells secrete large amounts of interleukin 2 (IL-2), gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) but no IL-4, IL-6, or IL-10, and hence the cytokine pattern is consistent with that of subtype 1 T-helper lymphocytes. In contrast, cells obtained from measles virus-infected susceptible C3H mice recognize measles virus proteins only weakly and secrete little IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha. Treatment of infected mice with anti-TNF-alpha antibodies has no effect on survival or virus clearance from the brain. Upon neutralization of IFN-gamma in vivo, the phenotype of measles virus-specific T-helper cells isolatable from BALB/c mice is reversed from subtype 1 to subtype 2-like. Anti-IFN-gamma antibody-treated BALB/c mice are susceptible to measles virus encephalitis, and viral clearance from the central nervous system is impaired. These results indicate that IFN-gamma plays a significant role in the control of measles virus infection of the central nervous system.