Tumor-specific transplantation antigens in reticulum cell sarcomas and lymphomas induced by the friend virus complex.

The reticulum cell sarcomas induced by Friend leukemia virus (FLV) and the lymphomas induced by the Friend virus-associated lymphatic leukemia virus (LLV) have been investigated for both their antigenic relationships and the presence in them of common tumor-specific transplantation antigens. Since noninfectious reticulum cell sarcomas contain ing the Friend virus genome were available, this was a unique opportunity to determine whether new tumor-specific trans plantation antigens were present in these tumors in the absence of virus. All of the lymphomas induced by LLV in different strains of mice contained LLV and each induced transplantation resistance against the other. The reticulum cell sarcomas induced by FLV were of two kinds: (a) those that contained FLV and (¿>) those that apparently contained no FLV but did contain the FLV genome, which could be rescued by LLV. Both the infectious and noninfectious reticulum cell sarcomas induced transplantation resistance against each other. Further more, the lymphomas induced by LLV and the infectious and noninfectious reticulum cell sarcomas induced by FLV also induced transplantation resistance against each other. Finally, LLV itself induced transplantation resistance against not only the lymphomas, but also the virus-containing and noninfec tious reticulum cell sarcomas. It is concluded that both the LLV-induced lymphomas and the FLV-induced reticulum cell sarcomas probably contain new nonviral, cross-reacting, tumor-specific transplantation antigen(s).