Effect of sustained hypertransfusion on Rauscher leukemia virus-variant A (RLV-A) infection in BALB/c mice

Infection of BALB/c mice with the RLV-A virus normally induces an erythropoietic dysplasia characterized by hepatosplenomegaly, erythroblastosis, erythroblastemia and severe anemia without reticulocytosis. Time to death varies between 20-30 weeks. Mice were inoculated with RLV-A after being hypertransfused with 75% packed red cells for 42 days which has been shown to eliminate erythropoiesis and modify the microenvironment to favor granulopoiesis. Following RLV-A inoculation, one group did not receive further transfusion (short-term) and another group continued with hypertransfusion weekly (long-term). The pathogenesis of RLV-A in the short-term group paralleled the characteristic RLV-A response. In the long-term group however, the characteristic RLV-A response was never observed. Instead, a granulocytic leukemia was developed. Continued hypertransfusion presumably after establishment of an altered microenvironment resulted in a completely different viral pathogenesis and the development of a transplantable myeloid leukemia.