Studies on the polyoma tumor-specific transplantation antigen (TSTA): Selection and characterization of TSTA-negative segregants from somatic hybrids

Abstract

Two polyoma‐TSTA‐negative variants were selected independently from a polyoma fibrosarcoma/Moloney lymphoma somatic hybrid, by repeated passages in polyoma‐virus‐preimmunized mice. One of the variants had lost all its polyoma DNA, while the other only retained a deleted piece of its integrated polyoma DNA. In contrast to the parental hybrid clone, none of the variants produced detectable amounts of T‐antigens. This finding indicates that a detectable expression of the products of the polyoma virus early genome, the T‐antigens, is important either directly or indirectly for the expression of TSTA.