Distinct loci influence radiation-induced alveolitis from fibrosing alveolitis in the mouse.

Thoracic radiotherapy may produce the morbidity-associated lung responses of alveolitis or fibrosing alveolitis in treated cancer patients. The genetic factors that influence a patient's likelihood of developing alveolitis and the relationship of this inflammatory response to the development of fibrosis are largely unknown. Herein we use genetic mapping to identify radiation-induced lung response susceptibility loci in reciprocal backcross mice bred from C3H/HeJ (alveolitis response) and C57BL/6J (fibrosing alveolitis/fibrosis response) strains.

Strain-dependent pulmonary gene expression profiles of a cystic fibrosis mouse model.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease severity is influenced by unknown genetic factors apart from the disease causative gene, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Previous studies have shown the C57BL/6J congenic Cftr(-/-) (B6 CF) mouse to develop a fibrotic lung disease compared with both CF mice of the BALB/c background and wild-type animals. In this report, gene expression profiling with microarrays was used to identify genes differentially expressed in the lungs of B6 and BALB CF mice compared with non-CF littermates.