Effect of glutaurine on liver tumour development and acute leukaemia induced by MC29 virus in turkey poults.

The effect of glutaurine (gamma-L-glutamyl-taurine, Litoralon) on the take and development of hepatoma and acute leukaemia induced by MC29/L avian oncorna-virus has been investigated in turkey poults. Glutaurine significantly decreased the incidence of hepatoma, but had no significant effect on the lethality of MC29/L infected birds. The number of primitive myeloid cells was lower in the peripheral blood of glutaurine treated birds than in the untreated controls. Reverse transcriptase determinations in turkey fibroblast cell cultures indicated that glutaurine delays MC29/L virus expression.