Autoimmune orchitis, epididymitis, and vasitis are immunogenetically distinct lesions

Experimental allergic orchitis (EAO), the principle animal model of noninfectious testicular inflammatory disease, is a genetically determined phenotype. Classical EAO, induced by inoculation with testicular homogenate and the appropriate adjuvants, is characterized by inflammatory infiltrates in the testis (orchitis), epididymis (epididymitis), and vas deferens (vasitis). In this study, the genetic control of susceptibility and resistance to these three lesions was analyzed in the mouse. The results obtained with independent inbred strains and H2 congenic mice show that the genetic control of all three lesions is complex and involves both H2 and non-H2-linked genes. Whole-genome exclusion mapping was performed on a backcross population segregating for all three phenotypes. Permutation-derived thresholds provided experimentwise, chromosomewise, comparisonwise, and marker-specific chromosomewise thresholds for declaration of significant regions linked to marker loci. Unique loci were identified on chromosome 8 for orchitis, chromosome 16 for epididymitis, and chromosome 1 for vasitis and have been designated as Orch6, Epd1, and Vas1, respectively. These results show that autoimmune orchitis, epididymitis, and vasitis are immunogenetically distinct lesions.