IN VITRO DEMONSTRATION OF HUMORAL AND CELL-BOUND IMMUNITY AGAINST COMMON SPECIFIC TRANSPLANTATION ANTIGEN(S) OF ADENOVIRUS 12-INDUCED MOUSE AND HAMSTER TUMORS

A colony inhibition (CI) technique was used to demonstrate in vitro tumor-specific antigenicity common for neoplasms induced by the adenovirus type 12. Immunization of mice against syngeneic mouse adeno 12 tumor cells evoked immunity demonstrable against other adeno 12 neoplasms of mice and of hamster as well. The immunity was detected as antibody activity in the sera of specifically immunized mice and as a similar activity of the lymph node cells of these animals. The finding in transplantation experiments that infection with adenovirus types 12 and 7 induces an isograft immunity against adeno 12 tumors was confirmed by CI tests on the sera of virus-infected mice. The probable identity of the antigen detected by the CI technique and the tumor-specific transplantation antigen is discussed.