Fluorescent Antibody Studies of the Viral Antigen in a Murine Leukemia (Rauscher)

Summary

Malignant lymphoid tissues of BALB/c mice and Osborne-Mendel rats infected with Rauscher virus (RNCI-2) contained viral antigen reactive with fluorescent antibody. The specific fluorescence occurred intranuclearly and less constantly in the cytoplasm. Absorption of the fluorescein labeled rabbit-anti-RNCI-2 globulin with infected mouse spleen, but not normal spleen, effectively prevented the specific fluorescence. In addition to the fluorescence in the malignant lymphoid cells, mature megakaryocytes of infected rat bone marrow contained specific nuclear, but no cytoplasmic, fluorescence. Cells from normal mice and rats, from transplantable lymphatic leukemias and reticulum cell sarcomas not known to be associated with a virus, and from DBA/2 mice infected with Friend virus did not react with the RNCI-2 antiserum.