An electron microscopic study of the chorioallantoic membrane following infection with Rous sarcoma virus.

Infection of the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) with Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) has been thought by earlier workers (12, 20) to result in the transformation of the ectoderm and then the mesoderm of that organ. In the present study, CAM were infected with 10(4) PFU (pock-forming units) of RSV (Bryan high titre strain) and collected for electron microscopy at 2, 4, and 6 days postinfection. Observations of the fine structural changes in the CAM after RSV infection support a singular role of the mesenchyme in the initiation of the tumors. The ectodermal hyperplasia often associated with RSV tumors of the CAM appears to be a secondary response to the alteration of the underlying mesenchyme. These findings are discussed in detail, and an alternate course of RSV transformation of the CAM by way of the vascular bed is suggested.