Histone H5 in the immature blood cells of chickens with leukosis induced by avian leukosis virus strain E26.

Whole histone was isolated from the immature cells of the peripheral blood of White Leghorn chickens, line 151, with leukosis experimentally induced by avian leukosis virus, strain E26 (ALV-E26). Histone H5 was demonstrated in all samples of these cells and was characterized by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel, extraction with perchloric acid, amino acid analysis, and immunodiffusion in agarose gel. Histone H5 was not detected in the myeloblasts of chickens with myeloblastosis caused by the avian myeloblastosis virus. It was concluded that the immature cells (IBC-E26) obtained from the peripheral blood of chickens responding positively to ALV-E26 belonged to the erythroid blood cell series and that ALV-E26 induced in vivo erythroblastosis but not myeloblastosis in chickens. The relative amount of histone H5 in IBC-E26 was two times higher than that in the erythroblasts obtained from the peripheral blood of chickens with erythroblastosis caused by avian erythroblastosis virus, strain R of Engelbreth-Holm. Thus the erythroblasts in the circulating blood of chickens with leukosis induced by ALV-E26 seemed to be more differentiated.