RFM

Inbr 120 +. Albino a,c. Origin: Furth, to Oak Ridge 1949. Strain has been found to be segregating for H2^f and H2^k and substrains also differ in other respects, so genetic contamination of some substrains must be suspected. Maint. by N.

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Characteristics

Leukaemia low (5%), but highly susceptible to induction of both myeloid and lymphoid leukaemia by X-irradiation and chemical carcinogens (Walburg and Cosgrove, 1971). Spalding and Brooks (1971) found that the strain was segregating for H2^k and H2^f. Two substrains were developed with a mean life-span of 655 _ 8 days in the H2^k substrain and 604 _ 10 days in the H2^f substrain, implying that the H2 locus may affect survival. The substrains also differed in radiation resistance and spontaneous activity. The presence of genetic variation within this strain may imply that some substrains have become genetically contaminated by a non-strain mating. Develops a spontaneous myelogenous leukaemia that is transplantable into non-leukaemic mice of the same strain (Huseini et al., 1976., 1976). Reticulum cell sarcomas 57% in males and 70% in females. Lung tumours 24% in males and 19% in females, and non-neoplastic moderate to severe glomerular lesions in more than 50% of animals (Zurcher et al., 1976).

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Huseini S., Fried W., Knospe W. H., and Trobaugh F. E. Jr. (1976) Dynamics of leukaemia and normal stem cells in leukaemic RFM mice. Cancer Res. 36, 1784-1789.

Spalding J. F. and Brooks M. R. (1971) The possible influence of a single gene locus on lifespan and its relationship to radiation resistance and activity. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 136, 1091-1093.

Walburg H. E. and Cosgrove G. E. (1971) Methycholanthrene-induced neoplasms in germfree RFM mice. Int. J. Cancer 8, 338-343.

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INBRED STRAINS OF MICE
Updated 9 Apr. 1998
Michael FW Festing
MRC Toxicology Unit, Hodgkin Building,
University of Leicester, UK