Abstract
Summary
Mice of the C57BL strain are normally highly resistant to the oncogenic activity of polyoma virus. Such mice were thymectornized at 3 days and injected with the virus at 4 days. Controls were sham-operated and injected with virus. Most of the thymectomized mice gained weight at the same rate as the controls and produced hemagglutination inhibiting antibodies. Pleomorphic tumors of the salivary glands developed within 2 months in 18 of 20 thymectomized mice and in only 1 of 16 controls at 4 months. It is suggested that the resistance of the C57BL strain to the oncogenic action of polyoma virus has an immunologic basis. Impairment of the maturation of immunologic faculty in mice of this strain allows the
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