[Stimulation of immunoreactivity against endogenous retroviruses and protection against leukemia in aged AKR mice after vaccination with antibodies to viral surface components. The role of antibodies to p15(E)].

Antibody against viral gp71 is effective therapeutically for high leukemic AKR mice if injected immediately after birth. No corresponding effect could be observed after inoculation later in life when the endogenous virus burden is already high. However, if antibody treatment was supplemented by the injection of p15(E) antibody, a therapeutic effect was observed even in older mice first treated at an age of 21/2 months. Those mice produced antibodies against viral surface proteins and appeared to be able to survive longer than control mice. Thus p15(E) antibody might be able to overcome retroviral associated immuno-deficiency. This therapy may have implications for the treatment of the apparently retroviral induced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) of man.