Structural proteins of mammalian oncogenic RNA viruses: immunological characterization of the p15 polypeptide of Rauscher murine virus.

The immunological properties of the purified 15,000-dalton protein of Rauscher murine type-C virus were analyzed by radioimmunoassay. The majority of the antigenic determinants of this protein were found to be remarkably specific to Rauscher and Friend virus and to a lesser extent to Moloney virus. Determinants reactive with other murine viruses (group-specific) or type-C viruses of other species (interspecies) were also demonstrated but were minor components of the total antigenic specificities of the protein. The results provide evidence that the antigenic properties of this protein specify the Friend-Moloney-Rauscher subgroup of type-C viruses.