XC-cell fusion induced by murine plasmocytoma cell. III. RNA gene expression correlated to syncytium formation.

The MF2 strain, a mouse myeloma derived cell line, was found to continuously produce C-type viral particles when maintained in tissue-culture. These cells when cultured in an ascitic form by injection to Balb/c mice lost this property. The ability to induce syncytia by cocultivation of the MF2 cell with XC-cells was shown to be related to the viral production. A DNA complementary to viral 70 S RNA was synthesized using the viral reverse-transcriptase endogenous activity. The quality of the probe is discussed and the expression of the viral genome among cellular poly A rich RNA varied concomitently to the syncytium inducing ability as evidenced by molecular hybridization experiments.