BALB/c

BALB/c is an albino strain of laboratory mouse from which a number of common substrains are derived. Now over 200 generations from their origin in New York in 1920, BALB/c mice are distributed globally, and among the most widely used inbred strains used in animal experimentation. cite web | title = BALB/c | work = Inbred Strains of Mice | publisher = Jackson Laboratory | url = http://www.informatics.jax.org/external/festing/mouse/docs/BALB.shtml | accessdate = 2007-04-16 ]

History

The founding animals of the strain were obtained by Halsey J. Bagg of Memorial Hospital, New York, from a mouse dealer in Ohio in 1913. From 1920, the progeny of the original colony were systematically inbred, sibling to sibling, for 26 generations over 15 years. During this time, the colony passed through the care of a number of scientists, including C.C. Little and E.C. MacDowell at the Carnegie Institution of Washington and H.J. Muller at the University of Texas. Potter M. History of the BALB/c family, pp 1-5. In: The BALB/c Mouse: Genetics and Immunology, "Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology", Vol. 122. Springer-Verlag, NY. 1985.] By 1935 the animals were in the possession of Muller's student, George Davis Snell, who moved them to The Jackson Laboratory. This stock provided the basis of all the BALB/c substrains that are now in use around the world. cite web | title = A Brief History of the Two Substrains of BALB/c, BALB/cJ, and BALB/cByJ | work = Jax Mice Literature | publisher = Jackson Laboratory | url = http://jaxmice.jax.org/library/notes/443a.html | accessdate = 2007-04-16 ]

Snell provided some animals from this stock to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to maintain. In 1961 D. W. Bailey used some of these to generate a substrain at the University of California, San Francisco. In 1974, now 136 generations from the original breeding pair, these animals were returned to The Jackson Laboratory and were named "BALB/cByJ". On 16 November, 2005, The Jackson Laboratory reported this substrain had reached its 235th generation. cite web | title = BALB/cByJ | work = Jax Mice Data Sheet | publisher = Jackson Laboratory | url = http://jaxmice.jax.org/strain/001026_2.html | accessdate = 2007-04-16 ]

Snell also provided a colleague, J. Paul Scott, with some BALB/c breeding stock in 1938 or 1939. When a fire destroyed the main Jackson Laboratory buildings in 1947, [cite web | title = The Jackson Laboratory Milestones: 1940 - 1949 | work = The Jackson Laboratory Timeline | publisher = Jackson Laboratory | url = http://www.jax.org/about/timeline/1940.html | accessdate = 2007-04-16 ] all of Snell's original breeding stock perished, but Scott's mice were in a different building and survived. Scott donated stock back, at generation 41, to repopulate the colony. The progeny of these are now termed "BALB/cJ" and, as of 14 December, 2006, were 221 generations from the founding stock. cite web | title = BALB/cJ | work = Jax Mice Data Sheet | publisher = Jackson Laboratory | url = http://jaxmice.jax.org/strain/000651.html | accessdate = 2007-04-16 ] Other less popular substrains, such as "BALB/cWt", are maintained at the Jackson Laboratory, while the "BALB/cN" substrain is maintained by the NIH.

Characteristics

BALB/c mice are useful for research into both cancer and immunology. According to Michael Festing's "Inbred Strains of Mice", BALB/c substrains are "particularly well known for the production of plasmacytomas on injection with mineral oil," an important process for the production of monoclonal antibodies. They are also reported as having a "low mammary tumour incidence, but do develop other types of cancers in later life, most commonly reticular neoplasms, lung tumours, and renal tumours. Most substrains have a "long reproductive life-span" , are noted for displaying high levels of anxiety and for being relatively resistant to diet-induced atherosclerosis, making them a useful model for cardiovascular research.

There are noted differences between different BALB/c substrains, though these are thought to be due to mutation rather than genetic contamination. Hilgers J., van Nie R., Ivanyi D., Hilkens J., Michalides R., de Moes J., Poort-Keesom R., Kroezen V., von Deimling O., Kominami R., and Holmes R. (1985) Genetic differences in BALB/c sublines. "Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol." 122, 19-30.] For example, male BALB/c mice are aggressive and will fight other males if housed together. However, the "BALB/Lac" substrain is much more docile. Southwick C. H. and Clark L. H. (1966) Aggressive behaviour and exploratory activity in fourteen mouse strains. "Am. Zool". 6, 559.] The "BALB/cWt" is also unusual in that 3% of progeny display true hermaphroditism. Eicher E. M., Beamer W. G., Washburn L. L., and Whitten W. K. (1980) A cytogenetic investigation of inherited true hermaphroditism in BALB/cWt mice. "Cytogenet. Cell Genet." 28, 104-115.]

See also

* Animal model
* Animal testing on rodents
* C57BL/6

External links

* [http://jaxmice.jax.org/newstrains/index.html Jackson Laboratory's mouse strains]

References