Reverse transcriptase inhibitors and chemically induced bladder tumors in mice.

Recent immunologic and microbiologic evidence suggests that urothelial tumors may be caused by "C" type oncogenic viruses. Such viruses may exert their oncogenic potential in responce to stimulation by known chemical carcinogens. By means of a unique enzyme, reverse transcriptase, these viruses are able to incorporate genetic information into that of the host, and can thereby be transmitted vertically from generation to generation. An evaluation of the specific antiviral agents dimethylbenzyldemethl-rifampicin and streptovaricin-comples, which inhibit the enzyme reverse transcriptase, revealed no depay in the induction of bladder tumors by the chemical carcinogen, 2-formylamino-4-(5-nitro-2-furyl) thiazole (FANFT) in C3H mice. This observation suggests that the reproduction and release of virus may not be essential in the malignant transformation of bladder epithelial cells, but does not preclude the possiblity that inherited viral genetic information may be involved in the oncogenesis of bladder tumors.