GENETIC-CONTROL OF THE RADIOSENSITIVITY OF LYMPHOID-CELLS FOR ANTIBODY-FORMATION ABILITY IN MICE

To analyze the genetic basis of the relationship between the radiosens itivity of the immune response and radiation lymphomagenesis, we exami ned the radiosensitivity of lymphoid cells for antibody formation in B ALB/cHeA, STS/A, F-1 hybrids, and their recombinant inbred mouse strai ns. The decrease in the number of plaque-forming spleen cells in BALB/ cHeA mice exposed to 3 Gy X-irradiation was more than tenfold that in STS/A mice. The phenotype of radioresistance was dominant over sensiti vity. The coincidence between the strain distribution patterns of the genetic markers and radiosensitivities of antibody formation in the va rious recombinant inbred strains was in the region with the Igh locus on chromosome 12. There was obvious difference between the patterns in the region containing the Ifa locus on chromosome 4 which has been sh own to be related to the incidence of radiation-induced lymphomas. The se results indicate that the region on chromosome 12 may contain major gene(s) related to radiosensitivity for antibody formation.