Generation of new mouse sarcoma viruses in cell culture

Endogenous nontumor-producing type C viruses from C3H mice were used to generate rapid, solid tumor-inducing variants in cell culture. The new mouse sarcoma viruses induce undifferentiated sarcomas with a short latency period upon inoculation into newborn NIH Swiss mice. Transforming viruses appear only transiently, at a time when the virus-infected cells show morphologic alterations; both before and after this time, transforming viruses cannot be detected. These results show that variants of endogenous type C virus which contain transforming genes (oncogenes) can arise during spread of the endogenous virus in fibroblast lines in vitro as well as in susceptible tissues in vivo.