In vivo induction of endogenous retroviruses in BALB/c mouse hepatocytes by successive treatments with carbon tetrachloride and bromodeoxyuridine

• Published in: International journal of cancer Vol. 24; no. 4; p. 498
• Main Authors: Ayukawa, H M, Saltzburg, D, Mukherjee, B B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 15-10-1979
• Subjects: Animals; Bromodeoxyuridine - blood; Bromodeoxyuridine - metabolism; Bromodeoxyuridine - pharmacology; Carbon Tetrachloride - pharmacology; DNA - metabolism; DNA, Viral - biosynthesis; Liver - metabolism; Liver Regeneration - drug effects; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Nucleic Acid Hybridization; Retroviridae - drug effects; RNA - metabolism; RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase - metabolism; Virus Activation - drug effects
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.2910240419

The effects of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) incorporation into hepatocytes of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced regenerating liver of BALB/c mice on the induction of endogenous retroviruses was examined. From the nucliec acid hybridization studies, the maximum levels of hybridization were obtained for both N- and X-tropic BALB/c endogenous retrovirus specific [3H]-cDNAs with liver RNA from animals receiving BrdUrd at 40 and 44 h post-CCl4 treatment, and killed on the fourth day following BrdUrd injection. Media from NIH-3T3 (Swiss mouse) and mink cell cultures, infected with liver homogenates from animals treated as above, gave significant levels of reverse transcriptase activity. The observations made in the present study show that BrdUrd incorporation into cell DNA can cause induction of both N- and X-tropic endogenous retroviruses in BALB/c mouse hepatocytes in vivo, and such induction is probably a transient event.