Differences in hepatic fibrosis in ICR, C3H, and C57BL/6 mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni.

The collagen content of the liver, measured as hepatic hydroxyproline, was examined for a period of up to 52 weeks following Schistosoma mansoni infection. Hepatic fibrosis was much more marked in S. mansoni-infected mice of an outbred ICR strain than in C57BL/6J mice, while C3H/HeN mice occupied an intermediate position. The marked difference in hepatic fibrosis in ICR and C57BL/6J mice correlated with more rapid in vitro synthesis of collagen by the livers of infected ICR mice. Strains of mice exhibiting high and low levels of fibrosis provide an excellent tool for examining mechanisms of murine schistosomal hepatic fibrosis and its genetic regulation.