Abstract
Summary
A systematic electron microscopic study was done on bone marrow, spleen, lymph node, and thymus tissues of C58 mice which have a high incidence of spontaneous lymphocytic leukemia. The primary objective was to determine the frequency and distribution of virus particles over the lifespan of these mice. The unique finding was made that C-type virus particles were localized in germinal centers of the spleen and lymph node of young (3 to 6.5 months old) preleukemic mice. C-type particles were associated with the lacy network of reticular cell dendritic processes in germinal centers. Virus particles were found infrequently in other areas of the spleen or lymph node, thymus and bone marrow of preleukemic mice. Alterations were observed in the cytoarchitecture of the reticular cell networks that contained many particles. The possible importance of the occurrence of C-type particles in lymphoid germinal centers was discussed in terms of the pathogenesis of spontaneous leukemia.
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