Non-producer human cells induced by murine sarcoma virus

Non-produces (NP) human cells were isolated from transformed foci induced by the Kirsten mouse sarcoma virus. These morphologically altered NP cells produced neither infectious virus nor complement-fixing antigens of the murine sarcoma-leukemia virus complex. However, the sarcoma virus genome could be rescued from these NF cells by co-cultivation with cells carrying "helper" Kirsten mouse leukemia virus or Woolly Monkey leukemia virus. The possible usefulness of these cells in efforts designed to detect covert or repressed RNA tumor viruses in various animal and human tissues is discussed.