Distinction between envelope antigens of murine xenotropic and ecotropic type C viruses by immunoelectron microscopy

The indirect ferritin-labelled antibody technique was used to determine the reactivity of an antiserum prepared against the NZB xenotropic virus with three murine xenotropic viruses, a feline xenotropic virus and a murine ecotropic virus. The envelope antigens of the xenotropic type C viruses isolated from the NZB, NIH Swiss and C57L mice were tagged with ferritin. The feline RD114 virus was not. Gross murine leukaemia virus was tagged, but only at high serum concentrations. The cross-reactivity titre of Gross virus to anti-NZB serum was removed by a serum dilution which was still reactive to xenotropic viruses. This difference in reactivity titres between a xenotropic and an ecotropic virus was sufficient to distinguish one from the other in doubly infected cultures. Specific tagging of membrances of cells infected by xenotropic virus was also observed.