Studies of mouse polyoma virus infection. V. Relation of virus infection to lymphocytic neoplasms of the mouse.

The relationship of polyoma (parotid tumor) virus infection to spontaneous and x-ray induced lymphocytic neoplasms (leukemia) in mice has been studied in two sublines of the high leukemic AKR strain, in the high leukemic C58 strain and in the x-ray responsive C3Hf/Bi strain. There was found to be no correlation of hemagglutination-inhibiting (HI) antibody with leukemia appearing at various times throughout life, and there was no evidence of increased risk of developing leukemia in mice with prior antibody to polyoma virus. Virus isolation experiments accomplished with AKR leukemic mice showed that HI antibody status of these mice had the same significance with regard to presence or absence of detectable virus as was previously observed for non-leukemic mice from infected colonies. The results of this study were interpreted as supporting the concept that the repeated association of polyoma virus and experimental transmission of leukemia is fortuitous.