FVB is an

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and reddish pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albinos. Varied use and interpretation of ...

, inbred laboratory mouse strain that is named after its susceptibility to Friend leukemia virus B. Topo bianco

History

This strain was produced from mice established at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

in 1935. In 1966, mice from this founding population were bred for sensitivity or resistance to challenge with

histamine Histamine is an organic nitrogenous compound involved in local immune responses communication, as well as regulating physiological functions in the gut and acting as a neurotransmitter for the brain, spinal cord, and uterus. Discovered in 19 ...

following

pertussis Whooping cough ( or ), also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, bu ...

vaccination. In 1970, of the sensitive mice from that breeding, some were found to be susceptible to Friend leukaemia virus. These mice were bred into the modern FVB strain at the

Jackson Laboratory The Jackson Laboratory (often abbreviated as JAX) is an independent, non-profit biomedical research institution which was founded by Clarence Cook Little in 1929. It employs over 3,000 employees in Bar Harbor, Maine; Sacramento, California; F ...

, with no subsequent selection for histamine sensitivity.

Characteristics

In addition to albinism and Friend leukemia virus sensitivity, these mice become blind by weaning age due to being homozygous for a retinal deterioration allele on the PDE6B gene.FVB/NJ
(2017). Retrieved 24 November 2017. Rods are lost within 9 weeks of birth, while

cones In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the ''apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, ...

may persist until 18 months of age.Pugh, P., Ahmed, S., Smith, M., Upton, N., & Hunter, A. (2004)
A behavioural characterisation of the FVB/N mouse strain
''

Behavioural Brain Research ''Behavioural Brain Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier. The journal publishes articles in the field of behavioural neuroscience. Volume 1 appeared in 1980 and issues appeared 6 times per year; as submissions in ...

'', 155(2), 283–289. These mice have greater susceptibility to an asthma-like phenotype than wild-type animals. They are resistant to

collagen-induced arthritis Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) is a condition induced in mice (or rats) to study rheumatoid arthritis. CIA is induced in mice by injecting them with an emulsion of complete Freund's adjuvant and type II collagen Type II collagen is the basis ...

. Their body temperature is above the average seen in other mice. They are susceptible to induced

squamous cell carcinoma Squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC), also known as epidermoid carcinoma, comprises a number of different types of cancer that begin in squamous cells. These cells form on the surface of the skin, on the lining of hollow organs in the body, and on the ...

. They have large litter sizes, and their

oocytes An oocyte (, oöcyte, or ovocyte) is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. In other words, it is an immature ovum, or egg cell. An oocyte is produced in a female fetus in the ovary during female gametogenesis. The female ger ...

possess prominent

pronuclei A pronucleus (: pronuclei) denotes the Cell nucleus, nucleus found in either a sperm or egg cell during the process of Fertilisation, fertilization. The Spermatozoon, sperm cell undergoes a transformation into a pronucleus after entering the egg ...

, making them ideal for transgenic research. This phenotype is observed only in the oocytes, not the sperm. Approximately 60% of FVB Mice regardless of sex survive to two years of age. By this point, approximately 60% of surviving mice show tumors/lesions. Some sudden deaths are observed in younger animals, but most die at 15 months or older. Two years is a common life expectancy in wild-type

house mice The house mouse (''Mus musculus'') is a small mammal of the rodent family Muridae, characteristically having a pointed snout, large rounded ears, and a long and almost hairless tail. It is one of the most abundant species of the genus '' Mus''. A ...

Behavior

FVB mice show above average activity and anxiety. Because of their visual impairment, they do not show normal

circadian rhythm A circadian rhythm (), or circadian cycle, is a natural oscillation that repeats roughly every 24 hours. Circadian rhythms can refer to any process that originates within an organism (i.e., Endogeny (biology), endogenous) and responds to the env ...

s. For the same reason, they struggle with visual tasks such as the Morris watermaze. Some studies suggest the presence of non-visual cognitive impairment in other tasks such as

fear conditioning Pavlovian fear conditioning is a behavioral paradigm in which organisms learn to predict aversive events. It is a form of learning in which an aversive stimulus (e.g. an electrical shock) is associated with a particular neutral context (e.g., a r ...

. FVB mice show elevated aggressive behavior towards newly intruding FVB mice shortly after the new mouse's introduction, potentially due to chronically disrupted circadian rhythms.

Sighted and pigmented derivative

A derivative strain called sighted FVB was developed from this strain via

backcrossing Backcrossing is a crossing of a hybrid with one of its parents or an individual genetically similar to its parent, to achieve offspring with a genetic identity closer to that of the parent. It is used in horticulture, animal breeding, and produc ...

.FVB.129P2-Pde6b+ Tyrc-ch/AntJ
(2017). jax.org. Retrieved 24 November 2017. The full name of this strain is FVB.129P2-Pde6b⁺ Tyr^c-ch/AntJ, reflecting its genotype. They show grey pigmentation. They are suggested for use in studies where FVB genetic background is desired, but the animals must be sighted. For example, this would apply to behavioral studies.

References

{{reflist Animals bred for albinism on a large scale Laboratory mouse strains