The induction of SV40-transformed chinese hamster and mouse kidney cells by mitomycin C.

The induction by mitomycin C (MC) of SV40 production in three lines of semi- or nonpermissive SV40-transformed cells is described. The production of virions by a line of semipermissive, virus-shedding Chinese hamster kidney cells is increased 1,000-fold by MC treatment; the proportion of infectious centers and V-antigen-containing cells is increased to a lesser degree, suggesting that both the burst per cell and the number of virus-producing cells are increased. MC treatment induces the production of small amounts of infectious DNA and virions in one line of nonpermissive mouse kidney cells, and infectious DNA apparently alone in another.