Fr-MLV infection induces erythroleukaemia instead of lymphoid leukaemia in mice given pituitary grafts

Here we report that the slow-transforming helper component of Friend murine leukaemia virus (Fr-MLV), which produces lymphoid leukaemias in normal mice, induces erythroleukaemia in mice given syngeneic pituitary grafts (SPG). Newborn mice were infected with Fr-MLV and, at one month of age, were transplanted with two pituitary glands under the kidney capsule. Sham-operated infected mice and uninfected transplanted mice served as controls. SPG selectively reduced the mean survival times of infected mice. Histopathology showed that, while most infected non-transplanted mice developed lymphoid leukaemias, virtually all Fr-MLF-infected mice given SPG developed erythroleukaemias. Experiments in vitro showed that Fr-MLV infection markedly depressed concanavalin A induced DNA synthesis in cells from spleen, thymus and lymph nodes. Addition of prolactin or growth hormone further suppressed lectin-induced mitogenesis of lymphoid cells from infected mice, but failed to influence the response of uninfected controls. These experiments indicate that, in mice, pituitary hormones modulate the development and the histological features of Fr-MLV induced leukaemias, and suggest that endocrine-immunological interactions play a role in retrovirus induced tumorigenesis.