The effect of microbial antigens on elicitation of leukemia in mice.

Repeated injections of microbial polysaccharide-nucleoproteins into mice elicited progressive hyperplasia of the reticuloendothelial system and fulminating proliferation of undifferentiated cells in the spleen, lymph nodes and liver, displaying the pathology of acute leukemia and resulting in the death of afflicted animals within a few months. It is postulated that long-lasting exposures to microbial antigens of the individuals genetically predisposed to leukemia may present a mechanism for its pathogenesis.