Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of major histocompatibility complex genes in the non-obese diabetic mouse strain and its non-diabetic sister strains.

It has been suggested that one of the recessive genes controlling diabetes in non-obese diabetic mice is linked to the major histocompatibility complex. We, therefore, performed restriction fragment length polymorphism studies of major histocompatibility complex genes (class I, II, and III) in non-obese diabetic mice in comparison with those of their non-diabetic sister strains, non-obese non-diabetic, cataract, and ILI mice which were derived from the same Jcl-ICR mice as the non-obese diabetic mouse was. When class II and III probes and a minimum of four restriction enzymes were used, class II and III genes of non-obese diabetic mice were indistinguishable from those of cataract and ILI mice but totally different from those of non-obese non-diabetic mice. The studies also indicated that A beta, E beta, and C4-Slp genes of non-obese diabetic, cataract, and ILI mice, and A alpha, A beta, E beta and C4-Slp genes of non-obese non-diabetic mice are different from those of BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice, respectively. While non-obese non-diabetic mice expressed the E alpha gene, non-obese diabetic, cataract, and ILI mice appeared to carry a deletion in the 5' end of the E alpha gene resulting in failure to transcribe the E alpha gene. When class I probe was used, cataract mice showed very different band patterns from those of the other ICR-derived mice. It is suggested that non-obese diabetic, non-obese non-diabetic, and ILI mice contain only a single class I D region gene.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)