Strain differences in lung granuloma formation in response to a BCG cell-wall vaccine in mice. Demonstration of two types of low responders.

It is known that C57BL/6, C57BL/10 and SJL mice are high responders to intravenously injected BCG cell-wall vaccine or oil-treated BCG organisms, whereas C3H, DBA/1 and DBA/2 mice are low responders. In a previous study, we found that C3H mice produced extensive lung granuloma when they were primed subcutaneously with BCG cell-wall vaccine and later rechallenged intravenously with the same vaccine. Now, we report that DBA/1 mice, but not DBA/2 mice, did not respond to intravenously challenged BCG cell-wall vaccine, even if this priming-rechallenging protocol is used. Thus, the low responders to the BCG cell-wall vaccine are divided into two groups. Breeding experiments using DBA/1 mouse as a parent suggest that an X-linked gene might control the responsiveness to BCG cell-wall vaccine in vivo.