Genetic Control of Susceptibility to Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis and the Ag-B Locus of Rats

Abstract

Injection of guinea pig spinal cord with complete Freund's adjuvant induces EAE in Lewis (Ag-B¹) and DA (Ag-B⁴) rats, but not in rats of the BN (Ag-B³) strain. When BN is crossed with Lewis, susceptibility is determined by a gene linked to the Ag-B histocompatibility locus, but a much more complex mode of inheritance is involved when BN and DA rats are crossed. Six inbred strains possessing the Ag-B¹ histocompatibility allele have been found to be susceptible to EAE. Evidence for recombination between the Ag-B locus and the gene determining susceptibility to EAE has not yet been obtained.