Susceptibility of AKXD recombinant inbred mouse strains to lymphomas

We analyzed the susceptibility of 10 AKXD recombinant inbred (RI) mouse strains to lymphomas. These strains were derived from crosses of AKR/J, a highly lymphomatous strain, and DBA/2J, a weakly lymphomatous strain. Of the 10 strains analyzed, nine showed a high incidence of lymphoma development. As with the other 13 AKXD strains analyzed previously (M. L. Mucenski, B. A. Taylor, N. A. Jenkins, and N. G. Copeland, Mol. Cell. Biol. 6:4236-4243, 1986), the mean age at onset of lymphomas and lymphoma types varied among the strains. Whereas some strains were susceptible to T-cell lymphomas, as was the AKR/J parent, other strains were susceptible to B-cell lymphomas or to a combination of T- and B-cell lymphomas. Somatic mink cell focus-forming proviruses appeared causally associated with T-cell lymphomas, whereas somatic ecotropic proviruses appeared causally associated with B-cell lymphomas. Mice with T-cell lymphomas died significantly earlier than mice with other lymphoma types (stem, pre-B, or B cell and myeloid). The numbers of effective loci influencing the mean age at onset of lymphomas, the presence or absence of mink cell focus-forming viruses in tumors, and the frequency of T-cell lymphomas were estimated to be 3.9, 1.8, and 2.7, respectively. Tests of association with marker loci already typed in the AKXD RI strains suggested that two loci, Rmcf and Pmv-25 (or a locus linked to Pmv-25), influence all three trait variables. Finally, D21S16h, a marker locus on distal chromosome 16, showed 50% probability of linkage to a locus that influences the mean age at onset of lymphomas. Additional studies in combination with classical genetic crosses should be helpful in confirming these linkages and in identifying other loci influencing tumor susceptibility in AKXD RI strains.