Changes of histone H1 subtypes with aging in strains of mice that possess different immunological characteristics.

Relative proportions of histone H1 proteins were determined for brain, heart, liver, and spleen for five strains of mice as a function of age. The strains examined were SJL/J and MRL/MPJ-lpr/pr which develop early resistance to tolerance and A/J, C57BL/6J and MRL/MPJ-+/+ which do not. Heart, brain, and liver of most of these strains displayed significant relative increases in histone H1(0) and coordinate decreases in H1I or H1II with age. In contrast, spleen cells, which are highly proliferative, contained little or no histone H1(0). Only spleen cells from a mouse strain with a predisposition to lupus erythematosus, MRL/MPJ-lpr/lpr, displayed any significant H1 changes.