Viral genes involved in leukemogenesis. I. Generation of recombinants between oncogenic and nononcogenic mouse type-C viruses in tissue culture.

An approach toward elucidation of the mechanisms of action of mammalian leukemia viruses has been made by the generation in tissue culture of recombinant viruses between a potent murine leukemia virus (MuLV), Rauscher-MuLV, and an endogenous xenotropic mouse type-C virus, BALB:virus-2, without known malignant potential. Using a double selection system devised to select against the temperature-sensitive (ts) lesion associated with a mutant of Rauscher-MuLV and the xenotropic host range of BALB:virus-2, recombinant viruses were obtained at frequencies ranging from 0.01 to 0.1%. Recombinant viruses were identified on the basis of the type specific antigenic determinants in the translational products of gag (p15, p12, p30, and p10 proteins), pol (reverse transcriptase), and env (gp70 glycoprotein) genes. By this approach, the partial genetic maps of a large number of recombinants were obtained. The fact that p10 of Rauscher-MuLV ts 25, the mutant utilized, was the only protein uniformly lacking in recombinant viruses, localized the lesion inhibiting gag precursor cleavage in this mutant at the carboxy terminus of its gag gene. The recombinant viruses demonstrated two host range phenotypes as defined by Fv-1 host cell restriction. In each case, NB-tropic recombinants possessed the p30 of BALB:virus-2 p30. Thus, it was possible to assign the site of Fv-1 action at, or closely linked, to the viral p30. The target within the viral genome of a second host restriction was also mapped. A serum factor, previously shown to specifically inactivate xenotropic virus infectivity, was demonstrated to exert its action on the viral env gene product. The system described here allows the generation of specific recombinant genotypes that should be useful in defining those regions of the viral genome involved in leukemogenesis.

Peptide-induced conformational changes in class I heavy chains alter major histocompatibility complex recognition.

Small peptides, derived from endogenous proteins bind within the antigen binding groove created by the beta-pleated sheets and alpha helices of the alpha 1 and alpha 2 domains of the class I molecule of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). However, the precise role of peptide in class I MHC conformation remains unclear. Here, we have shown that, in at least some instances, changes induced in the MHC molecule by the binding of distinct peptides can be identified as specific alterations in serological epitopes expressed on the class I protein. The nature of specific peptides expressed by class I-bearing cells may, therefore, have a dramatic influence on T cell development, self-tolerance, and alloreactivity.

Frequent hereditable shutdown of murine retrovirus gene expression in murine cell lines.

Friend spleen focus-forming virus shuts down its gene expression frequently (ca. 10(-3) per generation) in a cis-dominant hereditable fashion in various murine cells but much less frequently in rat cells (less than 10(-6) per generation). Thus, nonexpresser variants were isolated at high frequency from murine cell lines by immunoselection directed against virus-encoded cell surface glycoproteins and also simply by subcloning cells from lines which had been cultured for many generations. Studies of independently infected cell clones indicate that shutdown is a property of the cell line rather than of the specific proviral site. Nucleic acid blot analyses suggest that shutdown correlates with decreased transcription. Moreover, preliminary evidence indicates that other murine retroviruses also shut down frequently in murine but not in rat cells and that shutdown of replication-competent murine leukemia viruses with accompanying loss in interference to superinfection may be the rate-limiting reaction enabling cells to acquire multiple proviruses in their chromosomes. High-frequency shutdown in vivo would have important pathological consequences.

Stimulation of Rauscher leukemia virus DNA polymerase DNA-directed DNA synthesis by cationic trypanocides and polyamines.

Activated DNA-directed DNA synthesis catalyzed by Rauscher leukemia virus (RLV) and other type C mammalian retroviral DNA polymerases is uniquely stimulated by biologically active polyamines. Cationic trypanocides may act as antagonists of polyamine function. As described here, several cationic trypanocides stimulate RLV polymerase-catalyzed DNA-directed DNA synthesis at concentrations significantly inhibiting eukaryotic DNA polymerases. Such stimulation is negated by polyamines. Kinetic analysis of the stimulation of RLV DNA polymerase by three structurally dissimilar cationic trypanocides (Antrycide, Burroughs-Wellcome Compound 64A, and Bayer Compound 1694) suggests that such stimulation is, in part, due to a drug:DNA structural interaction resembling the polyamine:DNA structural complex recognized by the RLV DNA polymerase.

Spi-1 oncogene activation in Rauscher and Friend murine virus-induced acute erythroleukemias.

The Friend viruses, like the Rauscher virus, cause murine acute erythroleukemias which evolve in a similar multistep process. In previous studies it has been described that the late malignant proerythroblastic transformation induced by the polycythemia-inducing strain of Friend spleen focus-forming virus (SFFVP) is correlated with Spi-1 oncogene activation by insertional mutagenesis. In this paper we report that Spi-1 genomic rearrangements were also observed in 90% of tumors induced by the anemia-inducing strain of Friend spleen focus-forming virus (SFFVA) and in all Rauscher-induced tumors analyzed. SFFVA and Rauscher proviral insertions occurred in the viral integration cluster previously characterized in SFFVP-induced tumors. The Spi-1 1.4-Kb messenger RNA was found highly expressed in all SFFVA and Rauscher-induced malignant cells as compared to normal tissues. The nucleotide sequence of Spi-1 cDNA isolated from a library constructed from SFFVA-induced tumor cells revealed no difference between the Spi-1 gene transcripts expressed in both SFFVP and SFFVA-induced leukemic cells. These results indicate that Spi-1 gene activation is a general feature in the malignant proerythroblastic transformation which occurs in mice infected with Friend and Rauscher viruses.

Chromosomal assignment of two murine genes controlling susceptibility to spleen focus formation by Rauscher leukemia virus.

Two murine genes affecting susceptibility to spleen focus formation by RLV were assigned to chromosomes. The gene Rv-2, which controls susceptibility to spleen focus formation, was assigned to chromosome 9, and closely linked to the Fv-2 gene, by using the two congenic strains B10.C(47N)/Sn and B6.C-H-7b/By. These congenic strains, which were previously shown to carry the BALB/cJ allele for susceptibility to FLV on chromosome 9, were also susceptible to RLV, as determined by number of foci on the spleens of infected mice. A second gene which contributes to the susceptibility to spleen focus formation by RLV was assigned to the X chromosome because hemizygous male offspring of crosses between resistant-strain females and susceptible-strain males (C57BL/6J X CBA/Lac) showed significantly lower numbers of foci/spleen than the female littermates and than the offsprings, males and females, of the reciprocal cross (CBA/Lac X C57BL/6J). We suggest this gene be called Rv-3.

Interleukin-12 administration in retroviral infection of mice increases the potential to produce functional dendritic cells from bone marrow stem cells.

Rauscher leukaemia virus (RLV) infection in mice causes production of lymph node and skin dendritic cells (DC) that fail to stimulate a primary mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR). Treatment of mice with IL-12 around the time of infection results in DC with normal stimulatory function (N.J. Williams, J.J. Harvey, I. Duncan, R.F.G. Booth, S.C. Knight, Cell Immunol. 183 (1988) 121-130). Here we derived DC from mouse bone marrow by culture with granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) for 10-12 days; DC were generated from bone marrow cells taken from normal mice, from mice injected 15 days earlier with RLV or from those receiving RLV plus five daily doses of 100 ng of IL-12 starting 2 days before infection. Infection of the DC with RLV was assessed from nested PCR with doubling dilutions of DNA and the capacity of DC to stimulate a MLR was tested. DC derived from bone marrow of IL-12 treated animals showed at least twice the level of infection with RLV as those from non-treated animals although infection never exceeded 20% of the cells. DC derived from bone marrow of mice given RLV caused negligible stimulation of the MLR but those from mice additionally treated with IL-12 functioned normally. Thus, treatment of mice with IL-12 promoted the potential of stem cells taken 12 days after the last IL-12 injection to develop into functional DC despite increased infection with virus. Treatment of mice with IL-12 may have a long term effect on the potential growth of DC from stem cells which may contribute to the potency of this cytokine in promoting cell mediated immune responses.

Oncogene expression in Rauscher murine leukemia virus induced erythroid, myeloid and lymphoid cell lines.

A comparative study on the expression of nuclear and cytoplasmic oncogenes was carried out using the Northern blotting technique, in Rauscher virus induced primary leukemias and the more malignant transformed cell lines derived from them. The latter grow permanently in vitro. Hyperplastic spleens obtained from mice recovering from anemia were analysed as controls. In addition to the detection of mRNAs, Southern blotting was carried out to observe whether rearrangement or amplification of oncogenes had occurred. The results show that the nuclear oncogenes c-myc, c-myb and p53 are strongly expressed in leukemic tissue, whereas c-fos transcripts show a much weaker hybridization. The expression of two of these oncogenes, c-myc and c-myb was followed during differentiation in myeloid leukemic cells and showed a gradual decrease when compared with the actin gene, which is constitutively transcribed. A large number of cytoplasmic oncogenes is expressed in the leukemic cells lines, i.e. c-abl, c-fms, c-fes, c-src, c-ros, c-H-ras, c-K-ras and N-ras. Of these, transcripts coding for c-abl and c-src were absent in blast cells of acute erythroid leukemias. Transcripts coding for c-erb, c-mos and c-sis could also not be detected. A number of putative oncogenes which are reported to play a role in Moloney and Friend virus induced leukemias for instance pim-1, fis-1, fim-1 and fim-2 were also used for screening. Only expression of pim-1 in Rauscher virus induced myeloid leukemic cells and in primary acute erythroid leukemias could be observed. At the DNA level no rearrangement or amplification of any of the oncogenes investigated could be detected. The results show that a number of oncogenes are expressed simultaneously in the same leukemic tissue or cell lines. It therefore seems likely that the presence of transcripts of different oncogenes is associated with the progression of leukemia, but is not the primary cause of leukemogenesis or of the transformation of these cells into established cell lines.

[Activation of cellular genes as affected by Rauscher leukemia virus]. / Aktivatsiia kletochnykh genov pod vliianiem virusa leikoza Raushera.

The methods of hybridization in solution and blot hybridization have shown that the BALB/c mice spleen cells contain "silent" genes which can amplificate and change their structure following the infection by the Rauscher leukemia virus (RLV). The product of these gene activation is nuclear 35S RNA detectable by the comparative electrophoretic analysis of heterogeneous nuclear RNA of leukemic and normal cells. The expression of complete copies of 35S RNA was observed in nuclei of RLV-infected cells, while in cytoplasm this RNA is represented by incomplete copies. The expression of the sequences homologous to this 35 S RNA in normal mice spleen cells was not detected.

[Molecular cloning of MuLV proviruses integrated into the genome of mouse erythroleukemia cells. I. Characteristics of endogenous proviruses]. / Molekuliarnoe klonirovanie provirusov MuLV, integrirovannykh v genom myshinykh éritroleikoznykh kletok. I. Kharakteristika provirusov éndogennogo proiskhozhdeniia.

The library of genes was obtained from erythroleukemic AKR cells (C-1), that were maintained as suspension culture. Thirty four clones that had homology with 60-70S RNA of Rauscher Leukemia virus (RLV) were separated from this library. The restriction mapping was carried out with 14 clones, that contained most extensive proviral sequences. One clone (107) contains proviral sequences that are derived from one of the components of the RLV complex. The other 13 clones contain sequences of endogenous xenotropic viruses. The endogenous retroviral sequences obtained differ in restrictive maps from proviruses of ecotropic and xenotropic infectious endogenous MuLV and, apparently, might be attributed as non-inducible infectious xenotropic MuLV of class III. Some of the cloned retroviral sequences had symmetrical structure, that is typical for integrated proviruses, i. e. these sequences were separated from flanking cellular ones by long terminal repeats. All investigated retroviral sequences are deletion mutants of MuLV proviruses. It was shown that the inner regions of proviruses diverged more than the long terminal repeats. The expression of the main inner MuLV polypeptide (p30) was detected in NIH 3T3 cells, transfected with DNA of some clones.

[Molecular cloning of provirus sequences of Rauscher leukemia virus from mouse erythroleukemia cell genome]. / Molekuliarnoe klonirovanie provirusnykh posledovatel'nostei leikoza Raushera iz genoma myshinykh éritroleikoznykh kletok.

Provirus from a component of Rauscher leukaemia virus (RLV) has been cloned. The provirus (the size of 5000 b. p.) contains two LTR sequences and shares expressed sequence homology with Mo-MuLV. Restriction analysis and determination of the LTR nucleotide sequence and of the site from 3'-end of proviral genome have shown the cloned provirus to be the SFEV component of RLV. LTR from this cloned provirus contains all sites necessary for transcription: CAAT and TATA sequences, "cap" site and polyadenylation signal. The LTR of the cloned provirus from SFEV component of RLV has been shown to function as a promoter in E. coli cells.

[Characteristics of metabolism in fast-labelling nuclear RNA spleen cells of mice with Rauscher leukemia]. / Osobennosti metabolizma bystrometiashchikhsia iadernykh RNK kletok selezenki myshei pri leikoze Raushera.

A component of quickly labelling D-RNA with a sedimentation coefficient of 35 S is revealed in spleen cell nuclei of mice infected with the leukemogenic Rauscher virus. The component is absent in healthy animals. It is labelled for 5 min of incubation with the label and under conditions of chase experiment disappears from the nucleus 2 h later differing from the rest of leukemic cell D-RNA in a higher metabolic activity. [3H] RNA with a sedimentation coefficient of 35 S is detected in cytoplasm of RNA synthetizing in leukemic cells under the effect of leukemogenic virus. It is the RNA of messenger type though it seems possible that a part of it remains in the nucleus and performs intranuclear functions.

Early event of C-type virus budding in cells infected with a Rauscher leukemia virus temperature-sensitive mutant.

Surface replicas of ts25-infected cells reveal the organization of virus-specific knobs prior to and during the early stage of budding, and antibody-mediated ferritin labeling suggests a transmembrane association of viral envelope and core components.

Amino- and carboxyl-terminal amino acid sequences of proteins coded by gag gene of murine leukemia virus.

The amino- and carboxyl-terminal amino acid sequences of proteins (p10, p12, p15, and p30) coded by the gag gene of Rauscher and AKR murine leukemia viruses were determined. Among these proteins, p15 from both viruses appears to have a blocked amino end. Proline was found to be the common NH(2) terminus of both p30s and both p12s, and alanine of both p10s. The amino-terminal sequences of p30s are identical, as are those of p10s, while the p12 sequences are clearly distinctive but also show substantial homology. The carboxyl-terminal amino acids of both viral p30s and p12s are leucine and phenylalanine, respectively. Rauscher leukemia virus p15 has tyrosine as the carboxyl terminus while AKR virus p15 has phenylalanine in this position. The compositional and sequence data provide definite chemical criteria for the identification of analogous gag gene products and for the comparison of viral proteins isolated in different laboratories. On the basis of amino acid sequences and the previously proposed H-p15-p12-p30-p10-COOH peptide sequence in the precursor polyprotein, a model for cleavage sites involved in the post-translational processing of the precursor coded for by the gag gene is proposed.

Rauscher murine leukemia virus: molecular cloning of infectious integrated proviral DNA.

The integrated proviral genome of Rauscher murine leukemia virus was molecularly cloned in a bacteriophage Charon 4A vector after the proviral sequences were enriched by sequential RPC-5 column chromatography and sucrose gradient centrifugation. A recombinant DNA clone, lambda-RV-1, possessing a 12-kilobase-pair EcoRI insert, was shown to contain the entire 8.8-kilobase-pair leukemia virus genome flanked by rat cellular sequences at the 5' and 3' ends. This DNA fragment was biologically active, inducing the release of virion-associated reverse transcriptase activity with as little as 10 ng of DNA insert. The virus induced XC plaque formation at high titers on NIH/3T3 and BALB/3T3 cells and demonstrated identity with the parental virus in radioimmunoassays for the highly type-specific gag gene-coded p12 protein. The molecularly cloned Rauscher murine leukemia virus should be useful in studying the molecular mechanisms involved in the transformation of specific lymphoid target cells by chronic mouse leukemia viruses.

Molecular cloning of Rauscher spleen focus-forming virus and biological properties of the cloned virus.

Rauscher virus (RV) induces acute erythroleukaemia and a myeloproliferative disease in adult mice. It consists of a replication-competent murine leukaemia virus (R-MuLV) which acts as a helper virus and a defective transforming component which causes spleen focus formation, Rauscher spleen focus-forming virus (R-SFFV). The integrated proviral DNA of R-SFFV was cloned molecularly. The cloned R-SFFV was compared to that of other viral components which are associated with RV-induced disease and also the cloned Friend SFFV (F-SFFV) and the myeloproliferative sarcoma virus (MPSV), both of which expand the erythroid (F-SFFV, MPSV) and myeloid (MPSV) compartment on infection of adult mice. The genome of R-SFFV differs, if analysed by restriction enzymes, from R-MuLV in the 3' end of the genome between the env gene and the long terminal repeat. The difference is most likely an alteration in the 3' part of the gp70-coding region of the env gene. Comparison with Rauscher mink cell focus-inducing virus (R-MCF) suggests that R-SFFV is derived from R-MCF by substitution of the 3' half of the env gene with a sequence of unknown origin. The molecularly cloned R-SFFV pseudotyped with Friend MuLV induces an increase in late erythroid precursor cells which still require erythropoietin for maturation. Host range studies of the molecularly cloned R-SFFV prove that the Fv-2r locus is required but not sufficient to restrict RV-induced haemopoiesis in adult mice, thus suggesting that R-SFFV has a different target cell range than F-SFFV and is similar to MPSV.

The molecular nature of multiple tumour-associated antigens expressed by a Rauscher-MuLV induced leukaemia.

The identification of the molecules that bear the antigenic determinants recognized during an anti-tumour immune response is an important goal of tumour biology. It is now well established that most murine tumours express multiple tumour-associated antigens and in many cases it has been possible to show that these multiple antigens are expressed on completely different molecules. In the case of tumours induced by DNA and RNA viruses, certain virally encoded proteins may be tumour antigens. However, these tumours, like tumours of nonviral origin, also express other antigen-bearing molecules that are encoded by cellular genes. Frequently, the same tumour-associated antigen-bearing molecules are shared by all independently induced tumours of similar aetiology leading to the prediction that the expression of these antigenic molecules is linked to the molecular events necessary for tumour induction. Many of the nonviral tumour-associated antigen-bearing molecules purified to date are also found on normal tissues, but the normal metabolic function of these molecules and the alterations that render them antigenic are not yet understood.

Tryptic peptide analyses of polypeptides generated by premature termination of cell-free protein synthesis allow a determination of the Rauscher leukemia virus gag gene order.

Translation of Rauscher murine leukemia virus (R-MuLV) 35S RNA in an mRNA-dependent cell-free protein-synthesizing system yields polypeptides identical to authentic Pr65gag, the R-MuLV gag precursor, and Pr200gag-pol, the precursor to the R-MuLV reverse transcriptase. In addition to these polypeptides, the cell-free product contains a family of polypeptides of less than 65,000 molecular weight which appear to be generated by premature termination of protein synthesis within the viral gag gene. We compared the tryptic maps of several of these less than 65,000-molecular-weight premature termination polypeptides with that of full-size Pr65gag and found a progressive loss of tryptic peptides which could be assigned to known R-MuLV gag proteins. A 40,000-molecular-weight fragment, P40gag, lacked p10 and part of p30, placing p10 at the C terminus pf Pr65gag and p30 ajacent to it. Fragments of 33,000 (P33gag) and 27,000 to 28,000 (P27/28gag) molecular weight showed a successive loss of additional p30 tryptic peptides, but no loss of either p15 or p12. An 18,000-molecular-weight fragment lost p12 but retained p15. These data suggest an R-MuLV gag gene order of NH2-p15-p12-p30-p10-COOH.

Recombinants between temperature-sensitive mutants of rauscher murine leukemia virus and BALB:virus-2: genetic mapping of the Rauscher murine leukemia virus genome.

Recombinant viruses were generated in tissue culture between Rauscher murine leukemia virus (MuLV) temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants restricted at different steps in virus replication and a mouse endogenous xenotropic virus, BALB:virus-2. Mutants used included ts 28, a late mutant which releases noninfectious viruses at 39 degrees C, and ts 29, a double mutant with a ts lesion in its reverse transcriptase and a late block affecting virus budding. Immunological typing of the translational products of clonal recombinant viruses made it possible to establish their partial genetic maps and localize regions of the viral genome affected by different ts lesions. Recombinants involving Rauscher MuLV ts 28 invariably contained BALB-virus-2 p15, p12, and p30 proteins, localizing the late defect in replication by this mutant to the 5' moiety of the viral gag gene. All ts 29-derived recombinants contained the entire BALB:virus-2 gag and pol genes. Substitution of the pol gene is in agreement with the reported thermolability of Rauscher MuLV ts 29 reverse transcriptase (Tronick et al., J. Virol. 16:1476-1482, 1975). Substitution of the gag gene suggests that internal structural proteins are actively involved in the virus budding processing. Rauscher MuLV recombinants were used to establish the genetic map of the Rauscher MuLV genome by T1 oligonucleotide fingerprinting analysis. Detection of Rauscher MuLV T1 oligonucleotides in representative recombinant viruses, whose protein phenotypes were established by immunological techniques, permitted their assignment to specific regions of the viral genome. The genetic map of Rauscher MuLV generated in these studies should be useful for identifying and characterizing the viral gene(s) involved in leukemogenesis.

Leukaemia virus infection promotes fibroblast transformation by normal BALB/c mouse DNA.

All normal cells are thought to carry genetic information for oncogenic transformation, which, on activation to continuous expression, might make the cell cancerous. The presently known transforming retroviruses contain transforming genes which were probably derived by recombination of a slow oncogenic retrovirus with cellular sequences closely related to these genes. It was recently reported that cellular DNA fragments from normal tissue culture cells could transform mouse fibroblasts in vitro with a low efficiency. High efficiency of transformation was observed in secondary transfections only when high molecular weight DNA from transformed recipient cells was used as the transforming agent. We observed that DNA isolated from different BALB/c mouse organs can transform both NIH/3T3 and BALB/3T3 cells, although at a low frequency. In attempts to increase the initial efficiency of transformation, we have found that preinfection of recipient 3T3 cells with murine leukaemia viruses markedly enhances focus formation by normal BALB/c DNA fragments.