BK virus-transformed inbred hamster brain cells: status of viral DNA in subclones

We have recently reported that viral DNA sequences in inbred LSH hamster brain cells transformed by the GS variant of BK virus (LSH-BR-BK) are present predominantly in a free form (Beth et al., J. Virol. 40:276-284, 1981). In this report, we confirm that the presence of viral DNA sequences in these cells is not due to virus production, since viral capsid proteins were not detected by immunoprecipitation. Furthermore, we examined the status of viral DNA in 15 subclones of this cell line and detected free and integrated viral DNA sequences in only 5 of the subclones. The other 10 subclones contained exclusively integrated viral DNA sequences, as shown by the blot hybridization of high-molecular-weight cell DNA which was uncleaved or digested with HincII, for which there are no sites in viral DNA. The arrangement of viral DNA in these clones was further analyzed by cleavage of cellular DNA with HpaII and HindIII. Mitomycin (0.03 microgram/ml) treatment of subclones containing only integrated sequences resulted in the appearance of free viral DNA sequences in some of these cells. This result supports the postulation that free viral DNA in LSH-BR-BK cells is made up of excision products of observed tandemly repeated integrated sequences. In addition to the large T- and small t-antigens, LSH-BR-BK and all of its 15 subclones contained two antigen species which were larger than large T and one species which was smaller than small t. The number of tumor antigens in the LSH- BR-BK cell line and its subclones with a large copy number in a free form was not more than in the subclones with low copy number and integrated DNA. This suggests that free viral DNA is not a template for tumor antigen production in transformed cells.