Adoptive transfer of the gld syndrome in double congenic nude lpr mice

Homozygosity for either the lymphoproliferation (lpr) or the generalized lymphoproliferative disease (gld) mutation of mice causes the development of strikingly similar autoimmune and lymphoproliferative syndromes. The relationship between the lpr and gld mutations was studied by grafting B6 gld spleen cells (SC) to athymic B6 nude lpr mice (B6 nulpr) or to B6 nude (B6 nu) mice as controls. The injection of B6 gld SC, but not of B6 wild SC, to B6 nulpr mice caused a prolongation of survival of the short living B6 nulpr recipients. This was associated with elevated anti-single stranded DNA antibody titers and a serum hyperglobulinemia, as well as by a splenomegaly which was nearly as high as in genetically B6 gld mice, and by a marked lymphadenopathy (though milder than that of B6 gld mice). In contrast the [gld----nu] chimaeras showed a more attenuated form of gld-induced syndrome. These results suggest that the lpr environment supplied in athymic lpr recipients is compatible with--and may even favour--the development of the gld-induced syndrome.