Viral-related RNA in Hodgkins' disease and other human lymphomas.

Molecular hybridization with radioactively labeled DNA complementary to the RNA of the Rauscher leukemia virus was used to probe for homologous RNA in human lymphomas. 22 of 32 specimens contained RNA possessing homology to the RNA of the mouse leukemia virus, but not to that of the unrelated viruses causing mammary tumors in mice or myeloblastosis in chickens. Normal adult and fetal tissues failed to show significant levels of the leukemia-specific RNA. It appears that human lymphomas contain RNA sequences homologous to those found in a viral agent known to cause leukemia and lymphomas in an experimental animal. The fact that human leukemias and sarcomas also contain this type of RNA further emphasizes a remarkable similarity between the corresponding neoplasias of murine and human origin.