Central respiratory failure in a mouse model depends on the genetic background of the host

To define the mechanisms of human congenital central respiratory failure, we are examining gene-deficient mice with central respiratory failure. However, the influence of the genetic background of the mice may play an important role in the phenotype of the mice. Therefore, we examined developmental respiratory adaptation in several mouse strains. Neonatal mice from P0 to P3 were examined by whole-body plethysmography and the electro- physiological analysis using brainstem-spinal cord preparations. Our results show that respiratory maturation becomes progressively fixed after birth and that the rate of progression depends on the genetic background of the mice. In particular, the progression of C57BL/6 mice was delayed compared to that of BALB/c mice.