[Mechanism determining the variability of the immunologic specificity spectrum of antibodies and other immunoglobulins (theory)]. / Mekhanizm, determiniruiushchii spektr variabel'nosti immunologicheskoi spetsifichnosti antitel i inykh immunoglobulinov (teoriia).

An analysis of the theories of immunity-the germ line theory, the translocations and recombinations theory, the somatic mutation theory, and the reverse translation theory advanced earlier shows that their postulates afford no answer to any of the central questions of immunology, such as: 1) The origin of genetic information which codes the entire multimillion totality of immunologically different antibodies and antigen-recognizing receptors of the immunological system B and T cells. 2) The causes of sharp differences in both, the resolving power and mechanisms of recognition of antigenic determinant by antibodies and B cell receptors, on the one hand, and of macromolecular antigens as such by antigen-recognizing receptors of T cells, on the other 3) The essence of the mechanisms by means of which the T cell receptors recognize and distinguish the macro-molecular antigens as such. A new theory is advanced which in terms of the principle of cross stereocomplementarycity determining the regularities of mutual specific recognition by polynucleotides and polypeptides coded by them and also on the basis of some biophysical, virological phenomena explains the physico-chemical and genetic basis of immunological phenomena mentioned above.

[Somatic hybridization and oncogenesis: induction of tumors in mice by administration of mixtures of cells of the homologous organs and their hybrids]. / Somaticheskaia gibridizatsiia i onkogenez: induktsiia u myshei opukholei vvedeniem smesei kletok gomologichnykh organov i ikh gibridov

The 2 months old C57BL/6J mice were injected with the mixtures of kidney and spleen cells from mice of the same strain or of the same cells following the hybridization induced by Sendai virus. The tumours of liver, kidney and lymphoid system appeared in 25% of recipients within 12--14 months. The result obtained is predicted by the general theory of oncogenesis proposed early by L. B. Mekler.

On the problem of oncogene of tumour viruses.

The approach to the problem of oncogenesis of tumorigenic viruses is compared and analyzed from the position of the Altshtein-Vogt hypothesis and from that of the general theory of oncogenesis advanced by the present author. In contrast to the hypothesis of Altshtein-Vogt dealing mainly with the problem of oncogene origin, the general theory of oncogenesis not only defines concretely the origin of the oncogene and the essence of its product, but also makes it possible to understand why, when and how integration of the oncogene with the genome of the cell leads to the transformation of the cell into a benign cell and when into a malignant tumour cell. An analysis of the essence of the "oncogene position effect" from this standpoint shows that an integration, similar in its mechanism but differing in polarity, of the genome of other viruses with the cell genome should lead to the formation of a corresponding antiviral stable (life-long) immunity or also to the emergence of pseudoautoimmune disease of the type caused by "slow" viruses.

[Effect of dimethylbenzanthracene on lymphocytes of the peripheral blood in man]. / Deistvie dimetilbenzantratsena na limfotsity perifericheskoi krovi cheloveka

Human peripheral blood lymphocytes were subjected to the action--at first of phitohemagglutinin (PHA) and then of 9, 10-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene (DMBA) in various concentrations. Lymphocytes subjected to the action of PHA and then of the DMBA (in a dose of 0.5 gamma/ml) continued to divide during the whole observation period (14 days). The action of DMBA on the intact lymphocytes not only failed to induce their division, but also eliminated their sensitivity to the subsequent action of PHA at least for several days. The results obtained are discussed from the aspect of general oncogenesis theory put forward earlier.

Somatic hybridization and oncogenesis; (Mechanism of formation of malignant tumors and metastases by the action of antilymphocytic serum).

The results of experiments carried out to test some of the consequences of the earlier general theory of oncogenesis, according to which the malignant tumor cell can arise as a result of somatic hybridization of cells of different organ- and tissue-specificity, are described. In the first series a tumor induced by cellophane film, was grafted into syngeneic and allogeneic mice, and antilymphocytic serum (ALS) was then injected. Metastases occurred only in allogeneic recipients receiving ALS. It was thus shown that the ability of cells of this particular tumor to metastasize is not a property inherent in its cells but is acquired by them as a result of interaction with the recipient organism. In the second series it was shown by two immunological methods that the cells of metastases arising under these conditions contain tissue compatibility antigens of donor and recipient origin, i. e., that they are somatic hybridsmin the third series skin from individuals of another strain was grafted on to mice and ALS was injected; hepatomas developed in 74% of these mice. The theory is used to explain several phenomena of carcinogenesis not explicable by other theories: the phenotypic nature of cell transformation, the causes and nature of the duration of the latent period of tumor development, the mechanism responsible for the ability of tumors to overcome the system of immunological defense, the mechanism of activation of endogeneous oncogenic viruses, etc. Finally an answer is given to the question: what is a tumor?