Mouse Chromosome 4 Is Associated with the Baseline and Allergic IgE Phenotypes

Regulation of IgE concentration in the blood is a complex trait, with high concentrations associated with parasitic infections as well as allergic diseases. A/J strain mice have significantly higher plasma concentrations of IgE both at baseline and after ovalbumin antigen exposure when compared to C57BL/6J strain mice. Our objective was to determine the genomic regions associated with this difference in phenotype. To achieve this, we used a panel of recombinant congenic strains (RCS) derived from A/J and C57BL/6J strains. We measured IgE in the RCS panel at baseline and following allergen exposure. Using marker by marker analysis of the RCS genotype and phenotype data, we identified multiple regions associated with the IgE phenotype. A single region was identified to be associated with baseline IgE level, while multiple regions were associated with the phenotype after allergen exposure. The most significant region was found on Chromosome 4 from 81.46 - 86.17 Mbp. Chromosome 4 substitution strain mice had significantly higher concentration of IgE than their background parental strain mice, C57BL/6J. Our data presents multiple candidate regions associated with plasma IgE concentration at baseline and following allergen exposure, with the most significant one located on Chromosome 4.

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