RESISTANCE AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO THE INDUCTION OF RAT ADJUVANT DISEASE - DIVERGING SUSCEPTIBILITY AND SEVERITY ACHIEVED BY SELECTIVE BREEDING

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 60  (5) , 507-512
Abstract
Rats selected for their ability to develop or resist adjuvant disease were used to establish 2 inbred lines of rat over 20 generations. A resistant line was rapidly established with almost 100% non-responsiveness by the 6th generation. A line showing 100% susceptibility was also established very rapidly, but throughout the course of the breeding program the severity continued to increase in intensity to a level considerably above that to be seen in strains normally considered to be high responders. At the 13th generation and beyond, the susceptible line showed a marked sex difference in the secondary lesions, females being more severely affected than the males. The 2 lines of rat were also tested for their ability to develop experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in selected generations. There was no clear correlation between the 2 diseases although those animals developing the most severe adjuvant disease also had the most severe EAE.