BXD recombinant inbred mouse lines–a genetic reference population for dissection of the complex genetics of liver fibrosis

Aims: Previously we have shown that quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis can detect susceptibility loci for liver fibrosis, based on genome-wide linkage analysis in experimental crosses of inbred mouse strains (Hillebrandt et al. Gastroenterology 2002;123: 2041–51). In previous studies we identified multiple QTLs and a quantitative trait gene (C5) in a large F2 intercross of fibrosis-susceptible and resistant strains of inbred mice (Hillebrandt et al. Nat Genet 2005; 37: 835–43). Our aim now was to establish a murine genetic reference population for integrated and replicated analyses of the pathobiology of li…