Mouse mammary tumor virus infections: viral expression and tumor risk.

Concentrations of murine mammary tumor virus (MuMTV) antigen in the milk of individual naturally infected BALB/cfC3H and BALB/c mice given injections of MuMTV were related to their risk of developing a mammary tumor. Two distinct groups of MuMTV-infected mice were identified. One group exhibited high viral antigen levels in their milk (greater than or equal to 100 micrograms/ml), whereas the other group exhibited low viral antigen levels in their milk (less than or equal to 3 micrograms/ml). Mice that exhibited high levels developed tumors by 17 months of age, whereas those with low levels did not. Viral expression levels in mice having high risks of tumor development were also related to the length of the latency period preceding overt tumor development. The tumor risk potential of naturally infected mice was frequently that of their mothers. Various doses of MuMTV were injected into BALB/c mice, and the resulting infections differed in latency period, level of viral expression, and potential for neoplastic transformation.