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The genetic basis of variation in susceptibility to infection with Histoplasma capsulatum in the mouse

Genes & Immunity volume 8, pages 468–474 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

The pathogenic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum causes disease ranging from mild to fatal in healthy and immunocompromised humans. Infection rates reach 80% in endemic areas, including the Midwestern United States. We used inbred mice to identify a 300-fold difference in fungal burden. A/J mice showed lower fungal burden and morbidity than C57BL/6J mice, a reversal of the trend observed for many bacterial pathogens. We mapped the differences in fungal burden to discrete locations on chromosomes 1, 6, 15 and 17 with high significance. Substitution of a single resistant chromosome 17 onto the susceptible background was sufficient to lower fungal burden. These loci will allow dissection of the fungal-specific immune program.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Nina Hahn and Bob Williams for animal assistance, Leonid Teytelman for database help, LeRoy Brown and Carl Millward for histopathology services, and Lena Hwang and Rachel Brem for critical reading of the manuscript. JR is supported by NIH Grants GM31105 and GM35827. JM was supported by NIH Grant HG00047 and was a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fund fellow.

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  1. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, The University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    J A Mayfield & J Rine

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  1. J A Mayfield
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Correspondence to J Rine.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on Genes and Immunity website (http://www.nature.com/gene)

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Mayfield, J., Rine, J. The genetic basis of variation in susceptibility to infection with Histoplasma capsulatum in the mouse. Genes Immun 8, 468–474 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gene.6364411

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