Fv-l host cell restriction of Friend leukemia virus: Microinjection of unintegrated viral DNA

The murine gene Fv-l has been shown to exert a major influence over the replication of ecotropic murine leukemia viruses. Studies of the replication of Friend murine leukemia virus have shown that the restriction of viral replication occurs intracellularly after the initiation of viral DNA synthesis. The precise mechanism of the block imposed by the Fv-l gene product is not completely understood. Our studies of Fv-l restrictive infection have shown a variable decrease in the accumulation of intracellular unintegrated form I viral DNA. Analysis by microinjection of the viral DNA formed in nonpermissively infected BALB/c cells indicates that this DNA is infectious. These studies indicate that the form I DNA accumulated in nonpermissively infected BALB/c cells contains the complete viral sequences necessary for the production of viral progeny, and therefore, they suggest that the Fv-l host restrictive mechanism recognizes viral factors other than form I DNA alone. These results support the possibility that Fv-l host restriction occurs after formation of infectious viral DNA, perhaps at the integration step itself.