This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Chabot, J. F. Articles by Beard, J. W. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Chabot, J. F. Articles by Beard, J. W.

Mesotheliomas of Peritoneum, Epicardium, and Pericardium Induced by Strain MC29 Avian Leukosis Virus¹

Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27706

Injection of strain MC29 avian leukosis virus into the peritoneal, pericardial, and air sac cavities of the chicken resulted in high incidence of tumors of the mesothelium of the respective structures. As determined by light and electron microscopy, the growths arose as papillomas or expanding tumors by alteration of the squamous mesothelium to spheroidal or cuboidal cells characterized by rounded nuclei with clear nucleoplasm and very large nucleoli and cytoplasm deeply stained with hematoxylin. With continued rapid growth, the nuclear features lessened somewhat, cytoplasmic staining diminished greatly, and the cell limits became indistinct. A second stage of metaplasia was marked by frequent alteration of the epithelioid cells to cartilage which increased both by continued alteration of peripheral mesothelioma cells and proliferation of chondrocytes. The tumors, sometimes isolated but usually coalesced in masses, were poorly encapsulated, contained little fibrous stroma, and showed no necrosis. They readily invaded contiguous visceral tissues but did not metastasize to distant sites. Numerous virus particles were observed in the tumors together with occasional budding of the particles from the cell membranes. The mesotheliomas were an addition to the already broad spectrum of responses to strain MC29 virus consisting of myelocytic growths, high incidence of renal tumors, primary tumors of the liver parenchyma, and singular aspects of morphological alteration of chick embryo cells in vitro. These virus-induced tumors in the chicken closely resembled mesotheliomas of unknown etiology in man and bovines in both morphology and behavior.

¹ This work was aided by USPHS Grant C-4572, by the Annie Mabel Sherris Memorial Grant for Cancer Research from the American Cancer Society, Inc., by National Defense and Education Act Title IV Fellowship 67-08530.0, by IN-611 American Cancer Society International Research Grant, and by the Dorothy Beard Research Fund. The paper is part of the studies submitted by J. F. C. in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Duke University.

Received 9/12/69. Accepted 11/19/69.