Using the Collaborative Cross and Diversity Outbred Mice in Immunology

Area of Science:

• Immunogenetics
• Complex Trait Genetics
• Mouse Model Development

Background:

• The Collaborative Cross (CC) and Diversity Outbred (DO) are advanced murine genetic resources.
• They integrate strengths of inbred and outbred populations for genetic studies.
• These panels are derived from the same 8 founder mouse strains.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current state of CC/DO systems in immunogenetics.
• To identify key areas in immunology for future CC/DO research.
• To highlight computational tools and community resources for CC/DO analysis.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing 63 CC strains or DO mice for genetic mapping.
• Studying genes in heterozygous and homozygous states.
• Investigating epistasis between interacting loci.
• Performing confirmatory genetic studies post-quantitative trait loci identification.

Main Results:

• CC/DO systems enable mapping of complex immunological and infectious disease traits.
• These models facilitate the study of gene interactions and quantitative phenotypes.
• Novel mouse models for immune phenotypes can be derived from CC/DO studies.

Conclusions:

• CC/DO systems are powerful, yet underutilized, tools for immunogenetics.
• Significant potential exists for advancing cancer immunology, autoimmunity, vaccinology, and infectious disease research.
• Centralized computational and collaborative resources are available to expand CC/DO system utilization.