Lymphoid neoplasms in chicken flocks free of infection with exogenous avian tumor viruses.

More than 4,500 breeding female chickens of nine inbred lines maintained under specific-pathogen-free conditions to approximately 500 days of age were studied. Routine monitoring and special assays indicated that they were free of infection by exogenous viruses of the leukosis-sarcoma and the reticuloendotheliosis groups. Some birds were maintained free of Marek's disease (MD) virus infection in plastic isolators, and others were maintained in conventional chicken houses and vaccinated with the herpesvirus of turkeys to prevent the lesions of MD. Ten birds bearing lymphoid tumors were observed in two sublines of one line of chickens known to produce embryos that spontaneously produce Rous-associated virus, type 0 (RAV-O), an endogenous virus of the chicken. Four tumors were found in chickens of one subline maintained free of MD virus infection in isolators. These tumors did not involve the bursa and had some histologic features different from those typical of lymphoid leukosis. Six tumors were found in chickens of the other subline that were vaccinated to prevent MD; these tumors involved the bursa and were typical of lymphoid leukosis but not MD. These results suggest that two types of tumors may have been observed. The fact that DNA extracted from both types of tumors did not contain exogenous lymphoid leukosis virus sequences confirms the virologic evidence that exogenous viruses were not involved. The fact that endogenous viral sequences were not increased in copy number suggests that the endogenous virus RAV-O did not directly induce the tumors. Two birds with tumors not involving the bursa were found alive, and transplantable lymphoid tumors were developed. These tumors were of T-cell origin rather than of bursa cell origin as would be expected of lymphoid leukosis. These are the first reported lymphoid tumors that have been observed in the absence of known exogenous tumor virus infection in chickens. Our evidence suggests that the endogenous virus RAV-O did not play a primary role in the induction of these tumors.