Homozygous scid/scid;beige/beige mice have low levels of spontaneous or neonatal T cell-induced B cell generation.

Abstract

The autosomal recessive scid mutation results in defective immunoglobulin and T cell receptor gene rearrangement. The scid mutation occurred in the allotype congenic C.B-17 line, and up to 25% of C.B-17 scid mice spontaneously produce both T cells and immunoglobulin, a phenotype known as "leaky." Moreover, introduction of neonatal T cells into C.B-17 scid mice leads to immunoglobulin production by 100% of animals. We have produced mice homozygous for both the scid and beige mutations. By contrast with C.B-17 scid mice, BALB/c scid.beige mice have a < 2% incidence of "leakiness." This percentage does not increase with age, and introduction of neonatal T cells fails to rescue immunoglobulin production. This suggests that a gene (or genes) closely linked to the beige locus regulates B and/or T cell development.