Abstract
Papillomas, carcinomas in situ and squamous cell carcinomas were induced using ultraviolet irradiation in the hairless mouse strain Mus musculus HRA/Skh. DNA extracted from biopsies was examined using Mastomys natalensis papillomaviral DNA as a hybridization probe at reduced stringency. Sequences homologous to the probe were detected in 16 of 24 papillomas, five of five carcinomas in situ and six of 38 squamous cell carcinomas. A number of tumour DNAs (16/33) also hybridized with mixed DNAs of human papillomavirus types 11, 13, 16 and 18 at reduced stringency. This suggests a role for the hairless mouse as a laboratory model for the study of the involvement of papillomaviruses in malignant transformations.