Genetic studies in NZB mice. VI. Association of autoimmune traits in recombinant inbred lines.

Because recombinant inbred lines, which are homozygous at most loci, can have any combination of parental genes, the numbers and the association of genes responsible for traits can be suggested by examining phenotypic distribution in these lines. Such studies, reported herein, uncovered two major families of nonlinked genetic loci whose interactions underlie autoimmune abnormalities in NZB mice. One family of genes leads to antibodies to murine leukemia virus, ssDNA, and erythrocytes, as well as to defective tolerance to bovine gamma-globulin. The other group of genes leads to polyclonal B cell activation, stem cell abnormalities, endogenous murine leukemia virus expression, and NTA. These studies help explain previously observed dissociations between the traits associated with these two groups of genes. Such genetic analyses provide the basis for future molecular biologic studies of the genes and gene products that underlie autoimmune disease.