Characterization of AKR murine leukemia virus sequences in AKR mouse substrains and structure of integrated recombinant genomes in tumor tissues

A specific cDNA probe of AKR murine leukemia virus (AKR-MLV) was prepared to detect AKR-MLV sequences in normal and tumor tissues in a variety of AKR mouse substrains. AKR strains contained up to six endogenous AKR-MLV genomes. All substrains tested had one AKR-MLV locus in common, and closely related substrains had several proviruses integrated in an identical site. Virus-induced tumors in the AKR/FuRdA and AKR/JS strains showed a reintegration pattern of AKR-MLV sequences unique for the individual animal, suggesting a monoclonal origin for the outgrown tumors. An analysis of tumor DNAs from the AKR/FuRdA and AKR/JS substrains with restriction enzymes cleaving within the proviral genome revealed a new EcoRI restriction site and BamHI restriction site not present in normal tissues. The positions of these sites corresponded both with cleavage sites of EcoRI and BamHI in integrated Moloney recombinants and with the structure of isolated AKR mink cell focus-forming viruses. All tumors analyzed to data contain nearly identical integrated recombinant genomes, suggesting a causal relationship between the formation of recombinants and the leukemogenic process.