Temperature-sensitive mutant of avian erythroblastosis virus suggests a block of differentiation as mechanism of leukaemogenesis.

A temperature sensitive mutant has been isolated for the first time from a replication defective acute leukaemia virus, AEV. In vivo, at 41 degrees C, the mutant shows a reduced leukaemogenic potential. In vitro, in erythroblasts transformed at 35 degrees C, haemoglobin synthesis can be induced by a shift to 41 degrees C. This indicates that the continuous expression of a viral gene product is necessary to maintain the undifferentiated state of the virus-transformed leukaemia cells.