A deletion in the Friend spleen focus-forming virus env gene is necessary for its product (gp55) to be leukemogenic.

To determine the biological significance of the 585-base-pair deletion in the env gene of Friend spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) encoding a leukemogenic glycoprotein (gp55), we examined the pathogenicity of a constructed mutant SFFV (SFFVDF). In the SFFVDF genome, the env deletion was filled in with the corresponding env sequence of Friend mink cell focus-forming virus, whereas the 6-base-pair duplication and the single base insertion near the 3' terminus of SFFV env remained intact. SFFVDF was nonpathogenic in adult mice. During passage of SFFVDF through newborn mice, we recovered various pathogenic variant SFFVs. Molecular analyses of variant SFFV genome DNAs revealed the presence of a distinct deletion in each env gene, which was similar but not identical to that in the wild-type SFFV env. Starting with the SFFVDF genome DNA, other mutant SFFV genome DNAs were constructed in which the sequence coding for the gp70/p15E proteolytic cleavage site present in the SFFVDF genome was modified by oligonucleotide-directed site-specific mutagenesis to prevent the cleavage. These mutant SFFVs were also nonpathogenic. These results indicate that for the pathogenic activity of gp55, a certain env deletion is necessary which causes production of a gp70-p15E fusion protein with an absence of at least the N-terminal one-third of the p15E-coding region.