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The effects of leukemosuppressive immunotherapy on thymic infectious cell centers in AKR mice
R W Buckheit1, S N Liberman, D P Bolognesi
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710.
Although cortical thymocytes were found to be the predominant ecotropic and MCF-virus producers in the thymus of leukemia prone AKR mice the initial ecotropic retrovirus producing cells have been detected among a low density subpopulation of thymocytes including both PNA(+) and PNA(-) cells. Leukemosuppressive anti-viral treatment of these animals results in several important changes in the AKR thymus, including the elimination of virus producing cells, the induction of cellular phenotypic alterations, a decreased ability to bind ecotropic and MCF virus, a resistance to challenge with leukemogenic exogenous retroviruses, and the apparent elimination of a population of virus producing radioresistant cells. In addition, complement-mediated depletion with anti-viral IgG resulted in the complete elimination of proliferating thymocytes. These results suggest that passive anti-viral immunotherapy effectively eliminates a population of thymocytes which serve as the neonatal source of endogenous retroviruses and interferes with the earliest stages of leukemogenesis in AKR mice.
Although cortical thymocytes were found to be the predominant ecotropic and MCF-virus producers in the thymus of leukemia prone AKR mice the initial ecotropic retrovirus producing cells have been detected among a low density subpopulation of thymocytes including both PNA(+) and PNA(-) cells. Leukemosuppressive anti-viral treatment of these animals results in several important changes in the AKR thymus, including the elimination of virus producing cells, the induction of cellular phenotypic alterations, a decreased ability to bind ecotropic and MCF virus, a resistance to challenge with leukemogenic exogenous retroviruses, and the apparent elimination of a population of virus producing radioresistant cells. In addition, complement-mediated depletion with anti-viral IgG resulted in the complete elimination of proliferating thymocytes. These results suggest that passive anti-viral immunotherapy effectively eliminates a population of thymocytes which serve as the neonatal source of endogenous retroviruses and interferes with the earliest stages of leukemogenesis in AKR mice.