View source for BALB/c mice

'''BALB/c''' is an [[wikipedia:Albino|albino]], [[wikipedia:Laboratory_mouse|laboratory-bred]] strain of the [[wikipedia:House_mouse|house mouse]] from which a number of common substrains are derived. Now over 200 [[wikipedia:Generation|generations]] from New York in 1920, BALB/c mice are distributed globally, and are among the most widely used [[wikipedia:Inbred_strain|inbred strains]] used in [[wikipedia:Animal_experimentation|animal experimentation]].<ref name="Festing">{{Cite web|title=BALB/c|work=Inbred Strains of Mice|publisher=Jackson Laboratory|url=http://www.informatics.jax.org/external/festing/mouse/docs/BALB.shtml|accessdate=2007-04-16}}</ref>

BALB/c mice are useful for research into both cancer and immunology. According to [[wikipedia:Michael_Festing|Michael Festing's]] ''Inbred Strains of Mice'',<ref name="Festing2">{{Cite web|title=BALB/c|work=Inbred Strains of Mice|publisher=Jackson Laboratory|url=http://www.informatics.jax.org/external/festing/mouse/docs/BALB.shtml|accessdate=2007-04-16}}</ref> BALB/c substrains are "particularly well known for the production of [[wikipedia:Plasmacytoma|plasmacytomas]] on injection with [[wikipedia:Mineral_oil|mineral oil]],"  an important process for the production of [[wikipedia:Monoclonal_antibodies|monoclonal antibodies]]. They are also reported as having a "low [[wikipedia:Breast_cancer|mammary tumour]] incidence",<ref name="Festing2" /> but do develop other types of cancers in later life, most commonly reticular neoplasms, [[wikipedia:Lung_cancer|lung tumours]], and [[wikipedia:Renal_cancer|renal tumours]].<ref name="/cByJ data">{{Cite web|title=BALB/cByJ|work=Jax Mice Data Sheet|publisher=Jackson Laboratory|url=http://jaxmice.jax.org/strain/001026_2.html|accessdate=2007-04-16|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061116054205/http://jaxmice.jax.org/strain/001026_2.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archivedate=16 November 2006}}</ref><ref name="/cJ data">{{Cite web|title=BALB/cJ|work=Jax Mice Data Sheet|publisher=Jackson Laboratory|url=http://jaxmice.jax.org/strain/000651.html|accessdate=2007-04-16|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070411205957/http://jaxmice.jax.org/strain/000651.html|archivedate=11 April 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Most substrains have a "long reproductive life-span",<ref name="Festing2" /> are noted for displaying high levels of anxiety and for being relatively resistant to diet-induced [[wikipedia:Atherosclerosis|atherosclerosis]], making them a useful model for cardiovascular research.<ref name="/cByJ data" /><ref name="/cJ data" />