Tumor virus effects on immunocyte precursor cells. Hemopoietic stem cell behavior and leukemogenic susceptibility.

Studies of Rauscher virus-induced erythroleukemia have demonstrated immunodepressive effects in the host and enhanced leukemogenesis with adjuvant administration. These observations led to the study of leukemic development in the NZB strain as a natural model of the experimentally adjuvant-stimulated animal. The results of such investigation would attribute the increased susceptibility of NZB mice to the possession of an enlarged population of pluripotent hemopoietic stem cells in active cell cycle. Studies with radiation chimeras have further shown that elevated endogenous spleen colony formation, the increased potential for autoimmunity, and for susceptibility to Rauscher viral leukemogenesis are all linked through the NZB hemopoietic system. It is concluded that the presence of an enlarged compartment of cyclically active stem cells may be an etiologic factor in the susceptibility to both virus-induced leukemia and the development of autoimmune disease.