Tumor-specific transplantation antigen(s) of bovine adenoviruses

Protection against bovine adenovirus type 3-induced primary or transplantable tumors was studied in hamsters immunized with bovine adenoviruses, human adenovirus type 12 (A-12), simian adenovirus type 7 (SA7), or chicken-embryo-lethal-orphan (CELO) virus. Newborn hamsters inoculated with 2.3 times 10-5 plaqueforming units of bovine adenovirus type 3 were given injections of bovine serotypes 1, 2, or 3 during the latent period of tumor development. No hamsters immunized with type 3 and only 47% of those inoculated with types 1 or 2 developed tumors as compared to a control incidence of 90%. Primary tumors were not prevented when hamsters inoculated at birth with bovine adenovirus type 3 were immunized during the latent period with A-12, SA7, or CELO, even though 10-100 times more infectious virus was used. When adult hamsters were given injections of the bovine adenoviruses on 3 successive weeks and then challenged with graded doses of tumor cells, the three serotypes produced a 20-fold to 200-fold increase in the 50% tumor-producing dose of tumor cells. These studies indicate that bovine adenoviruses types 1, 2, and 3 induce cross-reactive transplantation antigens which, however, do not cross-react with those induced by oncogenic adenoviruses of either avian, simian, or human origin.