Search for nucleic acid sequences complementary to a murine oncornaviral genome in poly(A)-rich RNA of human leukemic cells.

The presence of viral-like sequences in the RNA of various types of leukemic cells was investigated by hybridizing cellular poly(A)-containing RNA with cDNA synthesized in an endogenous system of purified Moloney murine sarcoma virus [M-MSV-(MLV)]. Poly(A)-RNA-cDNA hybrids were detected by assaying their resistance to S1 nuclease. Hybrids were found in 22 out of the 46 leukemias that were tested. None of the controls, including material obtained from buffy coats, bone marrow cells, and a continuous human cell line, was positive. Positive cases were found in all the different categories of leukemias with the exception of chronic myelogenous leukemias. There was no definite corelation between the category of leukemia and positivity. A few cases contained a very high proportion of poly(A)-RNA-cDNA hybrid.