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. 1971 Jan;68(1):124–126. doi: 10.1073/pnas.68.1.124

Radiation Sensitivity of New Zealand Black Mice and the Development of Autoimmune Disease and Neoplasia

Jane I Morton 1, Benjamin V Siegel 1
PMCID: PMC391176  PMID: 5276282

Abstract

Young New Zealand Black (NZB) mice manifested extremely high resistance to the lethal effects of acute exposures to ionizing radiation, with a dose necessary to kill 50% of the animals within 30 days, LD50(30), of 964 roentgens (R) at 30 days of age and of 856 R for 90-day-old mice. In contrast, Coombs' positive 9-month-old NZB mice (with low primary immune response) were highly susceptible (LD50(30) = 543 R), possibly because of anemia-stimulated erythropoiesis leading to a depletion of stem cells. The radiation resistance of young NZB mice, combined with previous observations of their immunologic hyper-responsiveness, support the concept that NZB mice possess an unusually large pool of hematopoietic stem cells, an abnormality which may predispose them to the development of autoimmune disease and neoplasia.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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