Effects of non-MHC loci on resistance to retrovirus-induced immunodeficiency in mice

Mice of certain strains are highly sensitive to development of a severe immunodeficiency disease following inoculation as adults with LP-BM5 murine leukemia viruses (MuLV) whereas others are extremely resistant. These strain-dependent differences in response to infection have been shown to be genetically determined with resistance to disease being, in general, associated with homozygosity for Fv-1n and H-2 haplotypes a and d and sensitivity with homozygosity for Fv-1b and other H-2 haplotypes including b, s, and q. The Fv-1b, H-2r strain RIIIS/J (RIIIS) was found to be highly resistant to disease even though B10.RIII(71NS)/J (B10.RIII), also H-2r, was very sensitive, thus excluding a role for H-2 in the resistance of RIIIS. The characteristics of RIIIS resistance were evaluated in studies of infected (B10.RIII x RIIIS) F1, F2 and reciprocal backcross mice. Resistance to disease was shown to be semidominant and determined by more than one gene, although a preponderant influence of a single gene was suggested. Studies of segregating populations showed that resistance was not associated with or linked to polymorphisms of the V beta complex or genes in proximity to the Emv-2 locus on chromosome 8. However, there was almost complete concordance between absence of disease in infected mice and inhibition of ecotropic virus spread. These results demonstrate that genes other than Fv-1 or H-2 can profoundly influence the development of retrovirus-induced immunodeficiency and replication of ecotropic viruses.