Influence of major histocompatibility haplotype on autoimmune disease varies in different inbred families of chickens.

Three partially inbred substrains of Obese strain chickens were studied for the spontaneous development of autoimmune thyroiditis. The influence of the major histocompatibility complex (B haplotype) was marked in one, less marked but still significant in a second, and barely detectable and transient in a third substrain. These differences in the effect of B haplotype may be due to the overriding action of genes other than those within the B haplotype.