Resistance of chickens to Rous sarcoma virus challenge following immunization with a recombinant avian leukosis virus.

An attenuated recombinant avian leukosis virus (ALV) produced by recombinant DNA techniques was examined for its ability to provide resistance to Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) challenge. Specific-pathogen-free chicken embryos (18-day incubation) and hatched chicks inoculated with recombinant ALV produced significantly smaller tumors than sham-inoculated controls upon challenge with RSV 2 weeks postinoculation; inoculation with RAV-1 produced similar results. Specific-pathogen-free hens inoculated with recombinant ALV produced viral-protein-specific antibody that was transmitted to 100% of the progeny, as detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Progeny of the inoculated hens produced significantly fewer tumors than sham-inoculated controls upon challenge with RSV at hatch, indicating that maternal antibody may be a factor in resistance to tumor development.