Transmissible Agent Associated with 26 Types of Experimental Mouse Neoplasms.

A transmissible agent or factor has been found to be associated with all transplanted and spontaneous experimental tumors examined. This observation was made possible by utilization of a biochemical response of normal animals when inoculated with plasma or organ extracts from tumor-bearing hosts. This transmissible enzymic "lesion" is expressed by a five- to tenfold increase in the plasma lactic dehydrogenase activity of the injected normal test animals. The factor is heat labile, passes through bacteria-retaining filters, but is nondialyzable. It is partially sedimented by centrifugation at 100,000g for 1 hour.