HISTOCOMPATIBILITY-LINKED GENETIC CONTROL OF DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY

Abstract

Acute necrotizing inflammatory disease after intracerebral injection of LCM virus is largely dependent on the host immune response to the virus and is controlled, in part, by a dominant gene which is closely linked to the H-2 locus. The F1 hybrid (H-2q/k) from mating a susceptible SWR/J mouse (H-2q/q) to a resistant C3H/HeJ mouse (H-2k/k) is susceptible to LCM virus disease. When such hybrids (H-2q/k) are backcrossed to susceptible parents (H-2q/q), all F2 offspring (H-2q/q, H-2q/k) are highly susceptible. In contrast, hybrid (H-2q/k) backcross to resistant parents (H-2k/k) results in half of the F2 offspring being susceptible (H-2q/k) while the other half are resistant (H-2k/k). Similarly, in congenic H-2q/q and H-2k/k mice, H-2q/q mice are relatively susceptible to acute LCM disease, whereas H-2k/k are resistant.