NZC

Inbr: F137 (Wehi). Chocolate-brown. Genet: a, b. Origin: see NZB.

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Characteristics

High incidence of ovarian granulosa cell tumours (Bielschowsky and D'Ath, 1973). High incidence of spontaneous hydronephrosis (56% in males, 81% in females) (Warner, 1971). Has excessively high endogenous spleen colony forming activity with a marked reduction in spleen haematopoietic colony formation in isogenic transplantation experiments. In in vitro studies it has reduced immunological response to sheep red blood cells, phytohaemagglutinin and pokeweed. This may be due to a defect in the number of progenitor cells for the immune system, possibly involving only one component cell population (Herrod and Warner, 1972; Burnet, 1972a, b).

NZM-38-4479.

Set of 26 inbred strains, at F24-F30. All the mice originated in NZB x NZW mice, either F2 or backcrosses to NZW, in the Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research, Albany, NY (WCLR). The stocks came from UMC (University of Minnesota) in 1973 and had been strictly inbred at WCLR. For 12-15 months the mice were pen-bred for coat colour: chocolate brown, tan and grey. Inbreeding was started from single pairs in 1981 by CT Olsen. At F4-F5 AE Gabrielsen took over and abandoned the colour criterion for the grey mice and selected for continuation lines-to-be in which lupus nephritis deaths had already been documented. Inbreeding continued in WCLR and at All Children's Hospital (ACH), St. Petersburg, Florida. All are maintained at WCLR since 1990. Since March 1989 the colony has been maintained by UH Rudofsky and BD Evans. There are 26 strains, 24 descended from grey coated mice and one each from tan and chocolate.

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Characteristics

Many lines at F13-F18 resembled NZBxNZWF1 in lifespan and pathology. One had accelerated disease, and others had delayed disease. In a few, males sickened almost as early as females. 3-4 strains had delayed or no disease. (AE Gabrielsen and UH Rudofsky, personal communication 2nd. July 1991).

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Bielschowsky M. and D'Ath E. F. (1973) Spontaneous granulosa cell tumours in mice of strains NZC/Bl, NZO/Bl, NZY/Bl and NZB/Bl. Pathology 5, 303-310.

Burnet F. M. (1972a) The New Zealand mice, in Auto-immunity and auto-immune disease (Burnet M., ed), pp. 109-119. Davis, Philadelphia.

Herrod H. G. and Warner N. L. (1972) Defects in the immune response of NZC mice. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 140, 1254-1258.

Warner N. L. (1971) Spontaneous hydronephrosis in the inbred mouse strain NZC. Aust. J. Exp. Biol. Med. Sci. 49, 477-486.

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INBRED STRAINS OF MICE
Updated 9 Apr. 1998
Michael FW Festing
MRC Toxicology Unit, Hodgkin Building,
University of Leicester, UK