Altered Expression of Raet1e, a Major Histocompatibility Complex Class 1–Like Molecule, Underlies the Atherosclerosis Modifier Locus Ath11 10b

Rationale:Quantitative trait locus mapping of an intercross between C57.Apoe−/− and FVB.Apoe−/− mice revealed an atherosclerosis locus controlling aortic root lesion area on proximal chromosome 10, Ath11. In a previous work, subcongenic analysis showed Ath11 to be complex with proximal (10a) and distal (10b) regions. Objective:To identify the causative genetic variation underlying the atherosclerosis modifier locus Ath11 10b. Methods and Results:We now report subcongenic J, which narrows the 10b region to 5 genes, Myb, Hbs1L, Aldh8a1, Sgk1, and Raet1e. Sequence analysis of these genes revealed no amino acid coding differences between the parental strains. However, comparing aortic expression of these genes between F1.Apoe−/− Chr10SubJ(B/F) and F1.Apoe−/− Chr10SubJ(F/F) uncovered a consistent difference only for Raet1e, with decreased, virtually background, expression associated with increased atherosclerosis in the latter. The key role of Raet1e was confirmed by showing that transgene-induced aortic overe...