Genetic susceptibility to post-thymectomy autoimmune diseases in mice.

The strain distribution pattern of five different post-thymectomy autoimmune diseases was determined in 21 inbred and two congenic, resistant strains of mice. The results indicated that susceptibility genes outside the H-2 complex may be involved in the development of localized autoimmune diseases in neonatally thymectomized mice. Studies of recombinant inbred strains also showed that susceptibility to gastritis was not associated with the H-2 haplotype but appeared to be influenced by a minor histocompatibility locus. Possible linkage to the H-2 complex was suggested only in the development of coagulating gland adenitis. Although one experiment showed that susceptibility to orchitis and coagulating gland adenitis was inherited as a recessive trait, further studies are required to determine the exact mode of inheritance in each disease system.