Characterization of a Tumorlike Antigen in Type 12 and Type 18 Adenovirus-Infected Cells.

Gilead, Zvee (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia), and Harold S. Ginsberg. Characterization of a tumor-like antigen in type 12 and type 18 adenovirus-infected cells. J. Bacteriol. 90:120-125. 1965.-An antigen that reacts with antibody from type 12 adenovirus tumor-bearing hamsters was identified in extracts of KB cells infected with type 12 or 18 adenovirus. In contrast, viral structural proteins separated by chromatography on diethylaminoethyl-cellulose did not react with the sera from tumorous hamsters. The tumorlike (T) antigen in infected cells was found to be smaller than the viral structural antigens and, therefore, could be separated from them by centrifugation in a linear sucrose gradient. Investigation of the production of the T antigen in virus-infected cells further distinguished it from viral structural proteins by the following properties: (i) the T antigen was first detected 3 to 4 hr after infection, whereas viral antigens were synthesized 17 to 20 hr after infection; and (ii) the T antigen was produced when deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) biosynthesis was inhibited by 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (10(-6)m), but viral proteins were not synthesized in the absence of viral DNA replication.