Specificity of the Tumor-specific transplantation antigen induced by JC virus, a human polyomavirus.

The specificity of the tumor-specific transplantation antigen (TSTA) induced by JC virus was investigated by cross protection tests in weanling hamsters. Hamsters immunized with JC virus, BK virus, or SV40 were challenged 5 weeks later with known numbers of JC virus- or SV40-induced hamster tumor cells. Both the JC virus-immune and the SV40-immune hamsters showed resistance to challenge with homologous but not heterologous tumor cells, and the BK virus-immune hamsters were not resistant to either heterologous tumor cell. The TSTA induced by JC virus did not cross-react with that induced by SV40.