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Transduction of endogenous envelope genes by feline leukaemia virus in vitro

Nature volume 332, pages 731–734 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

Feline leukaemia viruses (FeLV) are exogenous retroviruses that can be detected in most cats with leukaemia, aplastic anaemia, myeloproliferative diseases and fatal immunosuppression1,2. FeLV isolates have been divided into three subgroups, based on the viral envelope-determined properties of interference and host range in vitro3,4. FeLV-A is present in all natural isolates4,5 and is generally minimally pathogenic6,7. FeLV-B is found with FeLV-A in isolates from ∼40% of natural infections and in a higher percentage of cats with lymphoma5. Following the fundamental observations of genetic reassortment of avian retroviruses with endogenous viral genes8 and the origination of lymphomagenic viruses during the ontogeny of AKR mice9, we show here that transfection of feline cells with FeLV-A DNA results in its recombination with endogenous FeLV-related sequences to produce viruses with the structural and host range properties of FeLV-B. Thus in vitro propagation of a retro virus may result in the generation of variants with very different properties.

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Author notes

  1. Norbert Riedel

    Present address: Boston University School of Medicine, 80 East Concord Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02118, USA

  2. Edward A. Hoover: Department of Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA

  3. James I. Mullins: To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cancer Biology, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Ave., Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

    Julie Overbaugh, Norbert Riedel, Edward A. Hoover & James I. Mullins

Authors
  1. Julie Overbaugh
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  3. Edward A. Hoover
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  4. James I. Mullins
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Overbaugh, J., Riedel, N., Hoover, E. et al. Transduction of endogenous envelope genes by feline leukaemia virus in vitro. Nature 332, 731–734 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/332731a0

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