A Filtrable Agent Producing Lymphoid Osteopetrosis in Chickens

Lymphoid tumors of the chicken have been shown to be readily transplantable by the use of viable cells. Pentimalli (29) and Olson (25, 27) have described the isolation of such strains from what was thought (28) were rare cases of neoplasia, but which had all the characteristics of the condition designated by Feldman and Olson (9) as lymphocytoma. Burmester and Prickett (7) reported the development of similar tumor strains from cases of naturally occurring visceral lymphomatosis. Earlier, Furth (11-13) described the properties of a filtrable agent (Furth strain 2) that produced lymphomatosis, and occasionally myelomas and endotheliomas. Contrary to the results obtained with agents of other chicken tumors such as the endothelioma of Begg and Murray (1), all sarcomas of Rous and Murphy (31), and similar neoplasms (10), Furth's strain 2 agent did not produce a tumor at the site of injection. However, viable neoplastic cells implanted in the pectoral muscle produced lymphomatous tumors similar to those described by Pentimalli (29), Olson (25), and Burmester and Prickett (7). This report describes briefly the manifestations of a filtrable agent associated with a transplantable lymphoid tumor of the chicken (25).