Resistance of NOD mice to salmonellosis

The NOD mouse strain has become one of the most popular animal models for exploring insulin dependent type 1 diabetes. Genetic studies have underlined the polygenic nature of the murine disease. Two such genes were mapped on chromosome 1. One, associated with diabetes onset, is strongly linked with the Lsh, Ity, bcg genes encoding for resistance against L. donovani, S. typhimurium and Mycobacterium. We have undertaken to phenotype NOD mice with regard to one of these resistance genes. After infection with Salmonella abortusovis, we found that NOD mice bore the resistant phenotype/Ityr, which is responsible for early resistance against Salmonella infection.