Murine polyomavirus
virus that infects mice and can cause tumors
Murine polyomavirus (also known as mouse polyomavirus, Polyomavirus muris, or Mus musculus polyomavirus 1, and in older literature as SE polyoma or parotid tumor virus; abbreviated MPyV) is an unenveloped double-stranded DNA virus of the polyomavirus family. The first member of the family discovered, it was originally identified by accident in the 1950s. A component of mouse leukemia extract capable of causing tumors, particularly in the parotid gland, in newborn mice was reported by Ludwik Gross in 1953 and identified as a virus by Sarah Stewart and Bernice Eddy at the National Cancer Institute, after whom it was once called "SE polyoma". Stewart and Eddy would go on to study related polyomaviruses such as SV40 that infect primates, including humans. These discoveries were widely reported at the time and formed the early stages of understanding of oncoviruses.
Pathology
MPyV is primarily spread among mice via the intranasal route and is shed in urine. Genetic susceptibility to MPyV infection among mice varies significantly, and not all MPyV strains are oncogenic. In general, only newborns and immunosuppressed mice (usually transgenic) develop tumors upon infection; although originally observed as a cause of parotid gland tumors, the virus may induce solid tumors in a wide variety of tissue types of both epithelial and mesenchymal origin. Although viruses in circulation among feral mice can be tumorigenic, under natural conditions the virus does not cause tumors; maternal antibodies have been shown to be critical in protecting neonates. It has been described as rare in modern laboratory mouse research colonies.
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This entry incorporates text from “Murine polyomavirus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.