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In the Western Highlands of Scotland there is a very high incidence of alimentary cancers in cattle. The carcinomas of the upper alimentary canal are found in association with virus‐induced benign papillomas, and transformation of papillomas to carcinomas has been observed. Strong circumstantial evidence suggests that the progression to malignancy is due to the interplay between the virus, bovine papillomavirus type 4 (BPV‐4), and carcinogen(s) present in bracken fern, which infests the marginal upland grazing grounds. The carcinomas are often accompanied by adenomas and adenocarcinomas of the lower bowels. To elucidate the role of the virus in the transformation process, we have analysed several malignancies of the alimentary canal, and have detected the viral genome in only one case of transforming papilloma of the oesophagus and one case of carcinoma of the tongue. We conclude that, although required for the induction of papillomas, the presence of the BPV‐4 DNA is not necessary for the progression to, or the maintenance of, the transformed state.

A cutaneous fibropapilloma was found on a Scottish red deer (Cervus elaphus), and a papillomavirus was isolated from it. The virus appeared to be related to bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPVl) or type 2 (BPV2) because: (i) it cross-reacted in peroxidase-antiperoxidase tests with antisera raised against these virions; (ii) BPVl and BPV2 DNAs cross-hybridized to the red deer papillomavirus in situ; and (iii) BPVl and/or BPV2 DNA cross-hybridized to the red deer papillomavirus DNA on Southern blots under conditions of high stringency. These tests also revealed a unique restriction enzyme cleavage pattern for the red deer papillomavirus DNA.

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By using autoradiography combined with 125I-labeled IgG prepared from human sera containing high anti-EA (early antigen) antibody titers, EA has been detected in a low fraction of cells in a variety of EBV DN A-containing cell lines previously designated as negative for this antigen. These positive cell lines are highly inducible for EA following treatment with iododeoxyuridine (IUDR) and also contain multiple copies of the virus genome on average. The correlation between IUDR inducibility and spontaneous expression of EA, in particular, suggests that the ability to express EA in both situations is interrelated.