growth/size/body
N |
• homozygotes are viable, fertile and display no differences in body and organ size or weight relative to wild-type
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muscle
• homozygotes show a significant decrease in endotenon tissue and a 38% reduction in the number of collagen fiber bundles in their tail tendons relative to wild-type
• in transverse sections, mutant bundles appear disorganized with fewer and unevenly distributed cells
• however, longitudinal sections of tail tendons indicate a similar number of cells between wild-type and mutant tendons
• in Achilles tendons, a much larger proportion of mutant collagen fibrils have a thinner diameter, although the range is the same as in wild-type
• at 7- and 20-weeks, homozygotes show a fibril diameter of 128 and 122 nm, respectively (versus 152 and 143 nm, in wild-type); as a result, mutants have ~60% more fibrils than wild-type animals per unit area
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skeleton
• homozygotes show a significant decrease in endotenon tissue and a 38% reduction in the number of collagen fiber bundles in their tail tendons relative to wild-type
• in transverse sections, mutant bundles appear disorganized with fewer and unevenly distributed cells
• however, longitudinal sections of tail tendons indicate a similar number of cells between wild-type and mutant tendons
• in Achilles tendons, a much larger proportion of mutant collagen fibrils have a thinner diameter, although the range is the same as in wild-type
• at 7- and 20-weeks, homozygotes show a fibril diameter of 128 and 122 nm, respectively (versus 152 and 143 nm, in wild-type); as a result, mutants have ~60% more fibrils than wild-type animals per unit area
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