Successful Graft of HTLV‐I‐transformed Human T‐Cells (MT‐2) in Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Mice Treated with Anti‐asialo GM‐1 Antibody

To develop an experimental model of adult T‐cell leukemia/lymphoma in small animals, severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice treated with anti‐asialo GM‐1 antibody were inoculated with MT‐2 cells, a cell line transformed by the human T‐cell leukemia virus (HTLV–I). Three mice injected with 4 × 10(7) cells subcutaneously or intramuscularly developed tumors at or near inoculation sites. Immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) staining for HTLV–I structural protein, p19, revealed the specific antigen in the cytoplasm of most cells from tumors and the DNA signals of HTLV–I proviral DNA were also positive in cellular DNA by polymerase chain reaction assay with HTLV–I tax gene primers, SK43/SK44. The MT–2 cells did not invade in mouse organs.