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H Fan

Publications and source records attributed to H Fan.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

Leukemogenicity of Moloney murine leukemia viruses carrying polyoma enhancer sequences in the long terminal repeat is dependent on the nature of the inserted polyoma sequences.

The leukomogenicity of Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) variants with chimeric long terminal repeats (LTRs) containing sequences from polyomavirus was studied. We previously showed that insertion of the B enhancer element from the PyF101 variant into the M-MuLV LTR between the M-MuLV enhancers and promoter abolished leukemogenicity. PyF101 differs from wild-type polyoma in that it can productively infect undifferentiated F9 embryonal carcinoma cells; this is due to alterations in the B enhancer element. Two additional chimeric M-MuLVs were generated that contained the B enhancers from wild-type polyoma and also from a second host range variant (PyF441), which differs from wild-type polyoma by only a single base change. In contrast to Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV, both Mo+Pywt and Mo+-PyF441 M-MuLV induced T-lymphoid leukemia in neonatal NIH Swiss mice with the same time course as wild-type M-MuLV. Thus the lack of leukemogenicity of Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV was related to the exact nature of the PyF101 B enhancers. While both Mo+Pywt and Mo+PyF441 M-MuLVs induced leukemia, they showed differences when the resulting tumors were examined. First, approximately one-third of the tumors induced by Mo+Pywt M-MuLV contained proviruses which lacked polyoma sequences, while all of the tumors induced by Mo+PyF441 M-MuLV contained proviruses with the chimeric LTR. Second, a majority of tumors induced by Mo+Pywt M-MuLV (and also wild-type, M-MuLV) showed proviral integrations near one or more of the cellular c-myc, pim-1, or pvt-1 loci. In contrast, tumors induced by Mo+PyF441 M-MuLV showed infrequent integrations at these loci.

Animals↗

Addition of substitution of simian virus 40 enhancer sequences into the Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) long terminal repeat yields infectious M-MuLV with altered biological properties.

Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) is a replication-competent retrovirus which induces T-cell lymphoma in mice. The enhancer sequences present within the M-MuLV long terminal repeat (LTR) region of the proviral genome have been shown to influence the disease specificity of the virus strongly. We examined the contribution of the M-MuLV enhancers to the transcriptional activity and pathogenesis of M-MuLV by constructing LTRs containing heterologous enhancer elements. The simian virus 40 enhancer region (72- and 21-base-pair repeats) was inserted into the U3 region (at -150 base pairs) of the M-MuLV LTR (Mo + SV) and also into a deleted form of the LTR which lacks the M-MuLV enhancer sequences (delta Mo + SV). These chimeric LTRs were used to generate infectious M-MuLVs by transfection of corresponding proviral plasmids into mouse fibroblasts. The relative infectivities of Mo + SV and delta Mo + SV recombinant viruses as determined by rat XC cell plaque assay and reverse transcriptase assay were 60 to 70% of wild-type M-MuLV levels. To study the pathogenicity of these two recombinant viruses, we inoculated newborn NIH Swiss mice with either Mo + SV or delta Mo + SV M-MuLV. Both viruses induced disease more slowly than M-MuLV, which induces disease 2 to 4 months postinoculation. Mo + SV M-MuLV-inoculated animals became moribund at 3 to 13 months postinoculation, whereas delta Mo + SV M-MuLV-inoculated animals became moribund at 6 to 24 months postinoculation. The tumors induced by the two viruses were characterized histologically and molecularly. Mo + SV M-MuLV-induced tumors were primarily T-cell-derived lymphoblastic lymphomas containing extensive rearrangements of the T-cell receptor beta gene. In contrast, delta Mo + SV M-MuLV induced pre-B- and B-cell lymphoblastic lymphomas, B-cell-derived follicular-center cell lymphomas, and acute myeloid leukemia. The delta Mo + SV tumor DNAs from B-lineage tumors were typically rearranged at the immunoglobulin gene loci and contained germ line configurations of the T-cell receptor beta gene. Southern blot hybridization confirmed that the tumor DNAs contained the predicted Mo + SV M-MuLV or delta Mo + SV M-MuLV provirus.

Animals↗

U3 sequences from HTLV-I and -II LTRs confer pX protein response to a murine leukemia virus LTR.

Human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV) types I and II are unusual among replication-competent retroviruses in that they contain a fourth gene (chi) necessary for replication. The chi gene product, p chi, transcriptionally transactivates the viral long repeat (LTR), and is thus a positive regulator. To investigate p chi transactivation, sequences from the U3 regions of the LTRs of HTLV-I and -II were inserted into the Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) LTR by recombinant DNA techniques. Transient expression assays of the chimeric LTRs indicated that the HTLV sequences conferred to the M-MuLV LTR responsiveness to HTLV p chi protein. M-MuLV enhancers were not required for function of the chimeric LTRs. Infectious recombinant M-MuLVs containing chimeric LTRs were also generated. These viruses showed higher infectivity when assayed in mouse cells expressing HTLV-II p chi protein compared to normal mouse cells. Thus the HTLV sequences were able to confer p chi responsiveness to infectious M-MuLV. The generation of a virus dependent on a transactivating protein for its replication has implications for the evolution of the human T-cell leukemia viruses.

DNA, Viral↗

Characterization of a preleukemic state induced by Moloney murine leukemia virus: evidence for two infection events during leukemogenesis.

A preleukemic state in mice inoculated with Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV) was characterized. Six to 10 weeks after neonatal inoculation, animals developed mild splenomegaly and generalized hematopoietic hyperplasia. The hyperplasia was evident from myeloid and erythroid progenitor assays. A nonleukemogenic variant, Mo+PyF101 Mo-MuLV, did not induce the hyperplasia; this suggests that the hyperplasia is a necessary event in Mo-MuLV leukemogenesis. Another variant, MF-MuLV, which contains the long terminal repeat of Friend MuLV and causes erythroid leukemia instead of T-cell lymphoma, also induced the preleukemic hyperplasia. A model for Mo-MuLV leukemogenesis is presented in which two infection events are necessary: the first leads to generalized hematopoietic hyperplasia, and the second results in site-specific insertion and long terminal repeat activation of cellular protooncogenes.

Animals↗

Rearrangements and insertions in the Moloney murine leukemia virus long terminal repeat alter biological properties in vivo and in vitro.

The effects of rearrangement and insertion of sequences in the Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) long terminal repeat (LTR) were investigated. The alterations were made by recombinant DNA manipulations on a plasmid subclone containing an M-MuLV LTR. Promoter activity of altered LTRs was measured by fusion to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene, followed by transient expression assay in NIH 3T3 cells. M-MuLV proviral organizations containing the altered LTRs were also generated, and infectious virus was recovered by transfection. Infectivity of the resulting virus was quantified by XC plaque assay, and pathogenicity was determined by inoculating neonatal NIH Swiss mice. Inversion of sequences in the U3 region containing the tandemly repeated enhancer sequences (-150 to -353 base pairs [bp]) reduced promoter activity approximately fivefold in the transient-expression assays. Infectious virus containing the inverted sequences (Mo- M-MuLV) showed a 20-fold reduction in relative infectivity compared with wild-type M-MuLV, but the virus still induced thymus-derived lymphoblastic lymphoma or leukemia in mice, with essentially the same kinetics as for wild-type M-MuLV. We previously derived an M-MuLV which carried inserted enhancer sequences from the F101 strain of polyomavirus (Mo + PyF101 M-MuLV) and showed that this virus is nonleukemogenic. In Mo + PyF101 M-MuLV, the PyF101 sequences were inserted between the M-MuLV promoter and the M-MuLV enhancers (at -150 bp). A new LTR was generated in which the PyF101 sequences were inserted to the 5' side of the M-MuLV enhancers (at -353 bp, PyF101 + Mo M-MuLV). The PyF101 + Mo LTR exhibited promoter activity similar (40 to 50%) to that of wild-type M-MuLV, and infectious PyF101 + Mo M-MuLV had high infectivity on NIH 3T3 cells (50% of wild type). In contrast to the nonleukemogenic Mo + PyF101 M-MuLV, PyF101 + Mo M-MuLV induced leukemia with kinetics similar to that of wild-type M-MuLV. Thus, the position of the PyF101 sequences relative to the M-MuLV LTR affected the biological behavior of the molecular construct. Furthermore, PyF101 + Mo M-MuLV induced a different spectrum of neoplastic disease. In comparison with wild-type M-MuLV, which induces a characteristic thymus-derived lymphoblastic lymphoma with extremely high frequency, PyF101 + Mo M-MuLV was capable of inducing both acute myeloid leukemia or thymus-derived lymphoblastic lymphoma, or both. Tumor DNA from both the PyF101 + Mo- and Mo- M-MuLV-inoculated animals contained recombinant proviruses with LTRs that differed from the initially inoculated virus.

Animals↗

Generation and characterization of a recombinant Moloney murine leukemia virus containing the v-myc oncogene of avian MC29 virus: in vitro transformation and in vivo pathogenesis.

A new retrovirus consisting of the v-myc oncogene sequences of avian MC29 virus inserted into the genome of Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) was generated. This was accomplished by constructing a recombinant DNA clone containing the desired organization, introducing the recombinant DNA into mouse NIH 3T3 cells, and superinfecting the cells with replication-competent M-MuLV. The construction was designed so that an M-MuLV gag-myc fusion protein would be produced. The resulting virus, M-MuLV(myc), morphologically transformed uninfected NIH 3T3 cells. Stocks of M-MuLV(myc)-M-MuLV were infected into secondary mouse embryo cultures. M-MuLV(myc) induced striking growth and proliferation of hematopoietic cells. These cells were of the myeloid lineage by morphology, phagocytic properties, and surface staining with Mac-1 and Mac-2 monoclonal antibodies. They resembled mature macrophages, although they displayed minor properties of immaturity. The myeloid cells were transformed in comparison with uninfected myeloid cells since they were less adherent and had unlimited proliferative capacity and reduced growth factor requirements. The transformed myeloid cells with proliferative potential were actually myeloid progenitors which apparently underwent terminal differentiation to macrophages. It was possible to derive a permanent line of factor-independent macrophages from M-MuLV(myc)-transformed myeloid cells. M-MuLV(myc) also immortalized and morphologically transformed mouse embryo fibroblasts. These in vitro properties closely resembled the biological activity of MC29 virus in avian cells and suggested that the nature of the v-myc oncogene was an important determinant in transformation specificity. Neonatal NIH Swiss mice inoculated intraperitoneally with M-MuLV(myc)-M-MuLV only developed lymphoblastic lymphoma characteristic of the M-MuLV helper alone, and no acute fibrosarcomas or myeloid tumors resulted. In light of the strong myeloid transformation observed in vitro, the absence of acute in vivo myeloid disease was noteworthy. Interestingly, when a derivative of M-MuLV(myc) carried by a nonpathogenic amphotropic MuLV helper was inoculated, T lymphomas developed with long latency. Molecular hybridization confirmed that these tumors contained M-MuLV(myc).

Animals↗

Effects of nonleukemogenic and wild-type Moloney murine leukemia virus on lymphoid cells in vivo: identification of a preleukemic shift in thymocyte subpopulations.

Infection of mice with Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) as well as with a nonpathogenic variant, Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV, was studied. Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV differs from wild-type M-MuLV by the addition of enhancer sequences from polyomavirus in the long terminal repeat. Previous experiments indicated that Mo+PyF101 establishes infection in animals, even though it does not induce disease. In vivo infection studies with particular attention to the thymus were performed, since the thymus is the target organ for M-MuLV leukemogenesis. Mice inoculated at birth with wild-type M-MuLV developed maximal levels of thymic infection by 2 to 3 weeks. Animals inoculated with Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV showed considerably less thymic infection at early times (2 to 4 weeks); nevertheless, by 5 to 6 weeks infection equivalent to wild-type M-MuLV-inoculated animals developed. Therefore the nonpathogenicity of Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV did not simply reflect a lack of thymotropism. Furthermore, thymic infection by itself may not be sufficient to induce leukemia. The relative deficit of Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV thymic infection at early versus late times did not reflect a change in the nature of the cells in the thymus, since in vitro infection of primary thymocytes from 2- and 6-week-old animals was equally efficient. One possible explanation is that infected thymocytes normally arise from progenitor cells which were infected in the bone marrow or spleen, and the cells restricted for Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV are located in those organs. Comparison of wild-type and Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV also allowed identification of important preleukemic changes in the thymus of wild-type M-MuLV-inoculated mice. Flow cytometry with monoclonal antibodies specific for thymocyte subpopulations was used. Staining of cells for Thy-1 or Thy-1.2 antigens indicated a shift toward low or negative cells. A concomitant increase in cells positive for antigen Pgp-1 was also observed. This is consistent with an increase in the relative frequency of immature blastlike cells. Importantly, thymuses from mice inoculated with Mo+PyF101 M-MuLV did not show these shifts in thymocyte subpopulations.

Animals↗

Generation of infectious Moloney murine leukemia viruses with deletions in the U3 portion of the long terminal repeat.

Deletional analysis within the long terminal repeat (LTR) of Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) was performed. By molecular cloning, deletions were made in the vicinity of the XbaI site at -150 base pairs (bp) in the U3 region, between the tandemly repeated enhancers and the TATA box. The effects of the deletions on LTR function were measured in two ways. First, deleted LTRs were fused to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene and used in transient expression assays. Second, infectious M-MuLVs were generated by transfection of M-MuLV proviruses containing the deleted LTRs, and the relative infectivity of the mutant viruses was assessed by XC-syncytial assay. Most of the deleted LTRs examined showed relatively high promoter activity in the transient chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assays, with values ranging from 20 to 50% of the wild-type M-MuLV LTR. Thus, the sequences between the enhancers and the TATA box were not absolutely required for transient expression. However, infectivity of viruses carrying the same deleted LTRs showed more pronounced effects. Deletion of sequences from -195 to -174 bp reduced infectivity 20- to 100-fold. Deletion of sequences within the region from -174 to -122 bp did not affect infectivity, indicating that this region is dispensable. On the other hand, deletion of sequences from -150 to -40 bp reduced infectivity from 5 to 6 logs, although the magnitude of the reduction partly may have reflected threshold envelope protein requirements for positive XC assays. The reduced infectivity did not appear to result from a failure of proviral DNA synthesis or integration by the mutant. Thus, the infectivity measurements identified three functional domains in the region between the enhancers and the TATA box.

Animals↗

Efficient insertion of genes into the mouse germ line via retroviral vectors.

We present a general strategy for the efficient insertion of recombinant retroviral vector DNA into the mouse germ line via infection of preimplantation mouse embryos. Transgenic mice were generated that harbor a replication-competent recombinant retrovirus (delta Mo + Py M-MuLV) that lacks the Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV)-type enhancer sequence in the long terminal repeat (LTR). Instead, the LTR contains an enhancer element that permits polyoma virus F101 to grow in undifferentiated F9 embryonal carcinoma cells. Expression studies in different tissues of animals transgenic for delta Mo + Py M-MuLV indicate possibilities to target and modulate expression of retroviral recombinants in mice via their LTR enhancer sequences. In addition, 16 transgenic mice were generated that harbor proviral DNA of a defective recombinant retrovirus carrying a mutant dihydrofolate reductase gene.

Animals↗

Generation of glucocorticoid-responsive Moloney murine leukemia virus by insertion of regulatory sequences from murine mammary tumor virus into the long terminal repeat.

The glucocorticoid-regulatory sequences from the murine mammary tumor virus long terminal repeat (MMTV LTR) were introduced into the LTR of Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) by recombinant DNA techniques. The site of insertion was in the M-MuLV LTR U3 region at -150 base pairs with respect to the RNA cap site. Infectious M-MuLVs carrying the altered LTRs (Mo + MMTV M-MuLVs) were recovered by transfection of proviral clones into NIH-3T3 cells. The Mo + MMTV M-MuLVs were hormonally responsive in that infection was 3 logs more efficient when performed in the presence of dexamethasone, irrespective of the orientation of the inserted MMTV sequences. However, even in the presence of hormone, the Mo + MMTV M-MuLVs were less infectious than wild-type M-MuLV. In contrast to the large effect on infectivity, dexamethasone induced virus-specific RNA levels in chronically Mo + MMTV M-MuLV-infected cells only two- to fourfold. Fusion plasmids between the altered LTRs and the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene allowed the investigation of LTR promoter strength by the transient chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression assay. The chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assays indicated that the insertion of MMTV sequences into the M-MuLV LTR reduced promoter activity in the absence of glucocorticoids but that promoter activity could be induced two- to fivefold by dexamethasone. The Mo + MMTV M-MuLVs were also tested for the possibility that viral DNA synthesis or integration during initial infection was enhanced by dexamethasone. However, no significant difference was detected between cultures infected in the presence or absence of hormone. The insertion of MMTV sequences into an M-MuLV LTR deleted of its enhancer sequences did not yield infectious virus or active promoters, even in the presence of dexamethasone.

DNA, Recombinant↗

Generation of a recombinant Moloney murine leukemia virus carrying the v-src gene of avian sarcoma virus: transformation in vitro and pathogenesis in vivo.

A Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) recombinant carrying the v-src gene of avian sarcoma virus was generated by the introduction of a cloned portion of v-src from Schmidt-Ruppin A avian sarcoma virus into a molecular clone of M-MuLV provirus at the recombinant DNA level. The v-src sequences (lacking a portion of the 5' end of v-src) were inserted into the p30 region of the M-MulV gag gene so that M-MuLV gag and v-src were in the same reading frame. Transfection of this chimeric clone, pMLV(src), into NIH 3T3 cells which were constitutively producing M-MuLV gag and pol protein resulted in the formation of foci of transformed cells. Infectious and transforming virus could be recovered from the transformed cells. This virus was designated M-MuLV(src). M-MuLV(src)-transformed cells contained two novel proteins of 78 and 90 kilodaltons. The 78-kilodalton protein, p78gag-src, contained both gag and src determinants, exhibited kinase activity in an immune kinase assay, and is probably a fusion of Pr65gag and src. The 90-kilodalton protein, which is of the appropriate size to be the gPr80gag fused to src, contained gag determinants as well as a V8 protease cleavage fragment typical of the carboxy terminus of avian sarcoma virus pp60src. However, it could not be immunoprecipitated with an anti-v-src serum. M-MuLV(src)-transformed cells showed elevated levels of intracellular phosphotyrosine in proteins, although the elevation was intermediate compared with cells transformed with wild-type v-src. M-MuLV and amphotropic murine leukemia virus pseudotypes of M-MuLV(src) were inoculated into newborn NIH Swiss mice. Inoculated mice developed solid tumors at the site of inoculation after 3 to 6 weeks, with most animals dying by 14 weeks. Histopathological analysis indicated that the solid tumors were mesenchymally derived fibrosarcomas that were both invasive and metastatic.

Amino Acids↗

Mapping of DNase I-hypersensitive sites in the 5' and 3' long terminal repeats of integrated moloney murine leukemia virus proviral DNA.

The chromatin state of integrated Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) proviral DNA was investigated. Nuclei from M-MuLV-infected mouse NIH 3T3 cells were digested with limited amounts of DNase I, and hypersensitive (HS) sites were mapped by the indirect end labeling technique. Particular emphasis was placed on the 5' long terminal repeat (LTR), since viral transcription initiates there. M-MuLV proviral DNA showed two strong DNase I-HS sites in the 5' LTR, one coincident with the transcription initiation (cap) site and the other with the transcriptional enhancers. Two weaker DNase I-HS sites were also detected in internal proviral DNA. The 3' LTR also showed a strong HS site in the region of the enhancers, but an HS site at the cap site of the 3' LTR was not detected. Thus, the chromatin configurations of the 5' and 3' LTRs of integrated M-MuLV proviruses appear to be different. The chromatin configuration of M-MuLV proviruses which contain LTR insertions of polyomavirus enhancer sequences was also studied. The 5' LTR of M-MuLV proviruses containing polyoma enhancer sequences substituted for the M-MuLV enhancers showed two strong HS sites, one in the polyoma sequences and one at the cap site. The 5' LTR of M-MuLV proviruses containing polyoma enhancer sequences inserted into the wild-type M-MuLV LTR between the cap site and the M-MuLV enhancers showed three HS sites. Two HS sites corresponded to those of the wild-type M-MuLV LTR, whereas the third mapped to the inserted polyoma sequences. The HS site associated with the inserted polyoma sequences was considerably stronger than the M-MuLV-associated HS sites.

Animals↗

Construction and characterization of Moloney murine leukemia virus mutants unable to synthesize glycosylated gag polyprotein.

Murine leukemia virus (MuLV) encodes two independent pathways for expression of the gag gene. One pathway results in processing and cleavage of the precursor Pr65gag to yield the internal capsid proteins of the virion and is analogous to gag polyprotein precursors for all classes of retroviruses. The other pathway, which is not encoded by several other classes of retroviruses, begins with a glycosylated polyprotein gPr80gag . gPr80gag is synthesized independently of Pr65gag; it contains Pr65gag peptides and additional amino-terminal protein. It is modified by further addition of carbohydrate, exported to the cell surface, and released from the cell but does not appear in virus particles. To investigate the role of glycosylated gag in MuLV infection, two mutants of Moloney MuLV (M-MuLV) deficient for synthesis of gPr80gag but able to synthesize Pr65gag were constructed. The mutants were obtained by substitution into a molecular clone of M-MuLV DNA by DNA from two acutely transforming viruses, Ableson MuLV (Ab-MuLV) and Moloney murine sarcoma virus (M-MSV). Both Ab-MuLV and M-MSV are derived from M-MuLV and they express M-MuLV gag sequences, but some strains do not synthesize glycosylated gag protein. For Ab-MuLV, a 177-base-pair Pst I fragment from the P90 strain containing the initiation codon for Pr65gag was substituted for the equivalent fragment in M-MuLV DNA. For M-MSV, 1.5 kilobases at the 5' end of the genome was substituted. Transfection of the recombined DNAs onto NIH-3T3 cells produced infectious M-MuLV, although the infected cells did not produce gPr80gag. Therefore glycosylated gag is not absolutely required for MuLV replication. Deletion of the glycosylated gag pathway did not significantly reduce the level of virus production, although a minor difference in XC plaque morphology was observed.

Animals↗

Methylation state and DNase I sensitivity of chromatin containing Moloney murine leukemia virus DNA in exogenously infected mouse cells.

The nature of Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV)-specific proviral DNA in exogenously infected mouse cells was studied. M-MuLV clone A9 cells, NIH-3T3 fibroblasts productively infected with M-MuLV, were used. These cells contain 10 to 15 copies of M-MuLV proviral DNA. The state of methylation of M-MuLV proviral DNA was examined by cleaving A9 cell DNA with restriction endonucleases which have the dinucleotide CpG in their cleavage sequences. Analysis with such enzymes, which recognized nine different sites in M-MuLV DNA, indicated that most if not all of the M-MuLV proviruses in A9 cells were completely unmethylated. An individual proviral integration was examined, using as probe adjacent single-copy cellular sequences. These sequences were obtained from a lambda phage recombinant clone containing an M-MuLV provirus from the A9 cells. This individual integration also showed no detectable methylation. In contrast, endogenous MuLV-related sequences present in NIH-3T3 cells before infection were largely methylated. The configuration chromatin containing M-MuLV proviruses was also investigated by digesting A9 nuclei with DNase I, followed by restriction analysis of the remaining DNA. Endogenous MuLV-related DNA was in chromatin relatively resistant to DNase I digestion, whereas the majority of M-MuLV-specific proviruses were in domains of intermediate DNase I sensitivity. Two proviral copies hypersensitive to DNase I digestion were identified. Analogy to the DNase I sensitivity of expressed and nonexpressed globin genes suggested that the proviral copies containing DNase I-hypersensitive sites were transcribed.

Animals↗