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Journal of Virology, July 1999, p. 6117-6122, Vol. 73, No. 7
Department of Molecular and Structural
Biology1 and Department of Medical
Microbiology and Immunology,4 University of
Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark, and GSF Institute for
Molecular Virology2 and GSF
Institute for Pathology,3 Neuherberg, D-85764,
Germany
Received 24 November 1998/Accepted 5 April 1999
Retroviral reverse transcription is primed by a cellular tRNA
molecule annealed to an 18-bp primer binding site sequence. The
sequence of the primer binding site coincides with that of a negatively
acting cis element that mediates transcriptional silencing
of murine leukemia virus (MLV) in undifferentiated embryonic cells. In
this study we test whether SL3-3 MLV can replicate stably using tRNA
primers other than the cognate tRNAPro and analyze the
effect of altering the primer binding site sequence to match the 3' end
of tRNA1Gln, tRNA3Lys, or
tRNA1,2Arg in a mouse pathogenicity model. Contrary to
findings from cell culture studies of primer binding site-modified
human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and avian retroviruses, our
findings were that SL3-3 MLV may stably and efficiently replicate with
tRNA primers other than tRNAPro. Although lymphoma
induction of the SL3-3 Lys3 mutant was significantly delayed relative
to that of the wild-type virus, molecular tumor analysis indicated that
all the primer binding site-modified viruses induce T-cell lymphomas
similar to those induced by the wild-type virus in terms of frequencies
of genomic rearrangements within the T-cell receptor
0022-538X/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Replication and Pathogenicity of Primer Binding
Site Mutants of SL3-3 Murine Leukemia Viruses
-chain, the
immunoglobulin
light chain, and the c-myc locus.
Whereas none of the mutants were found to revert to tRNAPro
primer utilization, in two tumors resulting from the injection of the
SL3-3 Lys3 mutant the primer binding site was altered to match that of
a new primer species, tRNA1,2Lys. In addition,
recombination with endogenous viruses resulting in the generation of
recombinant viruses carrying a glutamine primer binding site was
detected in the majority of the tumors induced by the SL3-3 Lys3 mutant
as well as in two tumors induced by wild-type SL3-3 and the SL3-3
Arg1,2 mutant.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Molecular and Structural Biology, University of Aarhus, C. F. Møllers Allé, Bldg. 130, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Phone: 45 8942 3188. Fax: 45 8619 6500. E-mail: fsp{at}mbio.aau.dk.
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