Variations in hybridization of RNA from different mouse tissues and embryos to endogenous C-type virus DNA transcripts.

Several adult tissues, newborns, and embryos of uninfected BALB/c mice were analysed for RNA complementary to [3H]-DNA transcripts synthesized from an endogenous type-C virus of BALB/c 3T3. The technique of RNA:DNA hybridization was used and the extent of hybridization was measured by the use of a single-strand-specific nuclease (S-I), purified from Aspergillus oryzae. Virus-specific RNA was detected in all adult and embryonic tissues tested. However, the RNA extracted from tissues having higher proliferative activity, such as spleen, small intestine, uterus and embryos, hybridize the [3H]-DNA probe to a greater extent than the RNA from tissues with low proliferative activity, such as kidney and liver. These observations add further support to the view that the repression of the virus genome in normal cells is not complete, and suggest the existence of a correlation between a qualitative or quantitative change in the endogenous C-type virus genome transcription pattern and cell proliferation.