Immunodeficiency and reticulum cell sarcoma in mice segregating for HRS/J and SJL/J genes

Hairless (hr/hr) mice segregating for SJL/J and HRS/J genes (SJL-HRS) were compared to their haired counterparts with respect to immune responsiveness, tumour development and ecotropic murine leukemia virus (MuLV) expression. Homozygosity at the hairless locus did not affect expression of MuLV. There was however, a significant depression of the cellular immune response of these mice as characterized by depressed reactions in phytohemagglutinin, concanavalin A and mixed leukocyte assays. Haired and hairless mice did not differ significantly in response to B-cell mitogens or in production of cytotoxic antibody. The depressed cellular immune response in hr/hr mice is associated with a distinctive histologic type of spontaneous reticulum cell sarcomas. The importance of these results in relation to previous studies of HRS/J hairless mice is discussed.