Natural killer cell suppression of Friend virus-induced preleukemic hemopoietic stem cells.

To determine whether hemopoietic cells infected with Friend polycythemia-inducing spleen focus-forming virus (SFFVp) are conserved or suppressed via natural surveillance in leukemia-resistant adult mice, we engrafted C57BL/6 recipients with isologous transgenic (donor origin marker) or natural killer (NK) cell-deficient B6 beige marrow cells exposed to SFFVp in vitro. Both groups of primary recipients were viremic and nonleukemic. Spleen cells from primary SFFVp-infected chimeras were engrafted into irradiated leukemia-susceptible secondary recipients to reveal dormant leukemia and grew as tumors of donor origin in 8 of 38 (21%) and 33 of 47 (70%) instances, respectively. Treatment of marrow donors and recipients with anti-asialo GM1 serum resulted in the depression of NK cell activity and the rapid development of dormant leukemia. We conclude that NK cells are an effective surveillance mechanism able to suppress SFFVp-induced preleukemic stem cells.

Extended self-renewal capacity of pluripotent hemopoietic stem cells: association with persistent Friend spleen focus-forming virus.

The pluripotential hemopoietic stem cells (CFU-S) of genetically resistant Fv2rr adult C57BL/6 (B6) mice can be persistently infected by Friend virus (FV) when exposed to defective spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) and helper virus (LLV) at the time of transplantation into heavily irradiated syngeneic recipients (that is, B6 leads to B6 isologous chimeras). Whereas normal and LLV+ marrow were depleted of CFU-S after three serial transplantations at 14-day intervals, SFFV+ donor marrow exhibited prolonged self-renewal capacity. SFFV+ CFU-S from B6. Fv2rr chimeric mice gave rise to normal erythroid and myeloid progenitor cells and were easily detected and quantified over 17 serial marrow transfers equivalent to 260 cumulative days. Marrow cellularity on day 14 of each transfer remained constant during the entire transplantation time. When SFFV fell below detectable levels at passage 15, CFU-S self-renewal exhibited rapid and total decline. Since the frequency of LLV-infected cells in late marrow transfers rose during the period of CFU-S decline, we conclude that SFFV is directly associated with the triggering of CFU-S self-renewal. It is also suggested that this proliferative event may be a prerequisite for the development of FV-induced leukemia.

Persistence and pathogenicity of defective Friend spleen focus-forming virus. Decreased transplantability of hemopoietic cells as a marker for preleukemic change.

A latent form of persistent infection can be established in susceptible adult mice inoculated with a preparation of defective Friend spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) purified free from standard leukemia-inducing helper virus (LLV-F). SFFV persistence was initially observed using an in vivo rescue technique in which SFFV could be directly rescued to form splenic foci of malignant erythropoiesis in mice. At approximately 30 d after virus inoculation however, SFFV could not be rescued after inoculation of LLV-F indicating that persistently infected (i.e., SFFV+) mice were either immume to exogenous helper virus or able to express SFFV-associated defective-interfering (DI) function(s). Persistent infection by SFFV was further documented using an in vitro rescue technique and ultimately resulted in the induction by SFFV of erythroleukemia in the absence of polycythemia or overt virus production. However, SFFV rescued by LLV-F from persistently infected normal and transformed hemopoietic cells was able to induce polycythemia in adult mice suggesting that this is a helper controlled property of the Friend virus complex. Transplantable SFFV-induced erythroleukemic cells could be retrieved from persistently infected yet histologically normal mice. The duration of SFFV persistence in normal spleen tissue suggests that the SFFV provirus resides in either a long-lived or pluripotent hemopoietic cell. Further, certain changes occurred, presumably in the membranes of persistently infected cells, which preceded the overt development of Friend leukemia and facilitated the definition of an SFFV preleukemic phase. Cell surface alterations were revealed using cell transfer techniques. Hemopoietic cells harboring a rescuable SFFV failed to proliferate when inoculated into lethally irradiated, syngeneic adult mice. In contrast, the transformed progeny of preleukemic cell populations and spleen cells transformed by FV complex (i.e., cells replicating both SFFV and LLV-F) were not rejected. This result suggests that histologically normal SFFV+ preleukemic cells express an antigen recognition site which is not present on overtly transformed cells and which may be a pertinent surveillance target for host anti-leukemogenic reactions.

Defective Friend spleen focus-forming virus: interfering properties and isolation free from standard leukemia-inducing helper virus.

Defective Friend spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) is able to interfere with the ability of its naturally occurring leukemia-inducing helper virus (LLV-F) to induce XC plaque formation in several different strains of mouse embryo cells. This interference has been observed by using two different SFFV preparations, one contained in an NB-tropic stock of Friend virus (FV) complex, and the second present in a C57BL-adapted strain of FV complex containing an associated B-tropic LLV-F helper. The LLV-F in NB-tropic FV complex effectively induced XC plaques in C57BL/6 (Fv-1(bb); Fv-2(rr)) mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEF) only in the absence of coinfecting SFFV, indicating that Fv-2-associated resistance to SFFV-induced focus formation in vivo does not necessarily extend to the restriction of SFFV function(s) in vitro (i.e., in Fv-2(rr) C57BL MEF). SFFV interference appears to be an intracellular event since LLV-F can adsorb onto, penetrate, and rescue defective murine sarcoma virus (MSV) from transformed 3T3FL S(+)L(-) cells with equal efficiency in the presence and absence of SFFV. However, significantly fewer LLV-infected S(+)L(-) cells released LLV-F progeny if SFFV was present. These observations suggest that Friend SFFV may be classified as a defective, interfering (DI) particle. Further support for this conclusion has come from studies designed to investigate two physical properties of defective SFFV particles. SFFV layered onto a 0 to 20% sucrose sedimentation gradient was recovered as a symmetrical band of virus that sedimented more slowly than standard LLV-F particles. Pooled SFFV-containing gradient samples contained visualizable type C virus particles and occasionally small amounts of detectable LLV-F. In an attempt to determine the buoyant density of sedimentation gradient-purified SFFV, pooled SFFV samples were layered onto a 25 to 50% sucrose equilibrium density gradient and were centrifuged to equilibrium. Greater than 50% of the infectious SFFV originally layered onto this gradient was recovered and seen as a narrow symmetrical band with peak SFFV infectivity at a sucrose density of 1.14 g/ml. The observed difference between SFFV and LLV-F buoyant densities appears to be related to an inherent physical property of each virus. Mixtures of these two viruses express the buoyant density of that virus population which is in excess in fabricated FV complexes probably due to the formation of SFFV-LLV aggregates. Finally, gradient-purified SFFV failed to induce XC plaques in MEF and did not function to rescue MSV as expected since SFFV itself is replication defective.