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Prevention of Gross Virus-induced Leukemia in Progeny of Immunized Female Rats¹

Departments of Pathology of Lenox Hill Hospital and of Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10021

In rats and mice, infection with Gross leukemia virus is age dependent, and leukemogenesis takes place only before and shortly after birth. A shift from complete susceptibility to total resistance occurs at about 2 weeks of age. In order to transmit resistance to induction of leukemia, we gave adult female rats of 3 different strains a single injection of Gross leukemia virus before or during pregnancy. Offspring of these and of nonimmunized control mothers were treated by injection with Gross leukemia virus at 1 to 4 days of age. All 61 rats born from control, nonimmunized mothers died with leukemia 62 to 90 days after injection, while none of the offspring of immunized mothers developed leukemia 7 to 10 months after injection. Sera of protective mothers reacted significantly with the type-specific antigen in complement fixation tests.

¹ Supported by Grant CA 10273-03 from the National Cancer Institute. This work was partially represented at the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, in Philadelphia, Pa., 1970.

² Address requests for reprints at: Departments of Pathology, Lenox Hill Hospital, 100 East 77th Street, New York, N. Y. 10021.

Received 5/14/70. Accepted 7/ 6/70.