Variations in properties of virus released from morphologically different cell lines transformed in vitro by Friend leukemia virus.

The properties of the virus synthesized by each of three morphologically different cell lines originating from DBA/2J fetal liver cells transformed by the anemic strain of Friend leukemia virus in vitro were analyzed. The cells of line G-1 are malignant in syngeneic DBA/2 mice, grow in suspension, and are erythroid in origin. Cells of lines G-2 and G-3 are adherent, are epithelial in appearance, and produce no tumors in DBA/2J mice. Higher reverse transcriptase activity was detected in the culture fluid of lines G-2 and G-3, although virus from G-1 cells was more leukemogenic. Differences were also found in the virion density and size of the viral genome. RNA from the virions produced by G-2 and G-3 cells sedimented at 75 S in a sucrose gradient; virion RNA from G-1 cells sedmiented at 60 S. However, when subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, all three virus strains showed identical RNA subunits with an estimated molecular weight of 2.6 X 10(6). Analysis of virion proteins by slab gel electrophoresis showed differences in envelope protein (gp71) components but not in the major core protein (p30). The properties of these viruses are stable and remain unchanged after passage in 3T3 cells.