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(American Journal of Pathology. 1999;155:557-570.)
© 1999 American Society for Investigative Pathology

Regular Articles

Onset and Dynamics of Osteosclerosis in Mice Induced by Reilly-Finkel-Biskis (RFB) Murine Leukemia Virus

Increase in Bone Mass Precedes Lymphomagenesis

Jörg Schmidt^*, Katalin Lumniczky, Barbara D. Tzschaschel^*, Harald L. Guenther, Arne Luz^§, Sabine Riemann^*, Wolfgang Gimbel^*, Volker Erfle^* and Reinhold G. Erben^¶

From the Institute of Molecular Virology,^*
GSF–National Research Center for Environment and Health, Neuherberg, Germany; the National Research Institute for Radiobiology and Radiohygiene,
Budapest, Hungary; the Bone Biology Section,
Department of Clinical Research, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland; the Institute of Pathology,^§
GSF–National Research Center for Environment and Health, Neuherberg, Germany; and the Institute of Animal Physiology,^¶
University of Munich, Munich, Germany

Newborn NMRI strain mice were infected with Reilly-Finkel-Biskis (RFB) murine leukemia virus (MuLV), a murine leukemia virus that has been shown to induce lymphomas, osteosclerosis, and osteomas in susceptible strains of mice. Bone histomorphometry of the distal femoral metaphyses at 3-month intervals showed osteosclerosis 3 (100%), 6 (100%), and 9 (93%) months after infection. This was represented by significantly augmented cancellous bone mass and accompanied by distinct changes in bone architecture. High numbers of provirus copies were detected at 2–4 weeks in femora, humeri, and calvaria, and viral protein was highly expressed in trabecular and cortical bone cells, particularly in osteocytes. Infected mice showed enhanced bone formation and smaller numbers of osteoclasts relative to sex- and age-matched controls. Osteoclastic differentiation was significantly reduced in cocultures of spleen or bone marrow cells with RFB MuLV-infected osteoclastogenic, osteoblast-like cells. However, RFB MuLV did not impair the activity of mature osteoclasts. In infected mice lymphomas were only observed at 6 (22%) and 9 months (40%) of age. At 3 months, IgG gene and TCR-ß gene rearrangements were not detectable, and new proviruses showed a heterogeneous integration pattern, indicating the absence of lymphoma in early osteosclerotic mice. In contrast, lymphomas, which developed in 8- to 9-month-old infected mice, showed IgG rearrangements indicating development of B-cell lymphomas, together with mono- or oligoclonal expansion of distinct patterns of proviral integrations. These results indicate that RFB MuLV-induced osteosclerosis develops within 3 months after infection and precedes lymphomagenesis. It may therefore be considered an independent skeletal lesion in MuLV-infected mice.

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