EXPERIMENTAL-INFECTION OF INBRED MOUSE STRAINS WITH SPIRONUCLEUS-MURIS

Four inbred mouse strains: BALB/c ByJ, 129/J, C3H/HeJ, and DBA/1J, dif fering in major histocompatibility type, were orally inoculated with 2 x10(5) infectious cysts of Spironucleus muris. Fecal samples were coll ected for fecal cyst output prior to infection, and on days 2, 6, 7, 8 , 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 after infection. Following necropsy, formalin- fixed intestinal sections were examined for the presence of trophozoit es. On post-inoculation days 6 and 8, mice of the 129/J strain shed si gnificantly (p<0.05) fewer cysts than other strains. This pilot study suggests that major histocompatibility haplotype may influence suscept ibility of inbred mouse strains to S. muris. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.