Genetic control of immune responses to Moloney sarcomas in rats: role of non-RT-1 background genes.

Bone marrow chimeras, athymic nude rats and a congeneic strain were utilized to verify and further examine non-RT-1 linked background genes that influence immune responses of BN and LEW rats to Moloney sarcomas. In transplants that did not involve RT-1 incompatibility, infusion of high-responder bone marrow into a lethally irradiated low-responder recipient, or low-responder bone marrow into a high-responder recipient, would restore a high antibody response to the gp70 antigen of MuLV. Such transplants did not restore a high response to the p30 antigen. Athymic nude rats did not exhibit a significant response to either p30 or gp70 while euthymic littermates exhibited a significant response to both antigens. Growth of Moloney sarcomas as well as antibody and cellular responses to antigens expressed by such tumors were measured in LEW-IN rats which carry the RT-1 of BN and the background of LEW. For each of these parameters, LEW-IN resembled LEW more closely than BN.