mortality/aging
• at birth, homozygotes are present at the expected Mendelian frequency; however, no homozygotes survive beyond 24 hrs after birth
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behavior/neurological
• newborn homozygotes contain no milk in their stomachs
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• newborn homozygotes open and close their mouths but fail to suckle effectively, despite the absence of gross or histologic abnormalities in brain (i.e. cortex and hippocampus), olfactory bulb, as well as facial or mouth tissues
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nervous system
• newborn homozygotes display a significantly reduced number of motoneurons in the lumbar spinal cord, with no apparent change in the brachial or thoracic cord
• newborn homozygotes also exhibit a significant decrease in the number of motoneurons in the facial but not hypoglossal nucleus; sensory neurons of the dorsal root ganglia remain unaffected
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hematopoietic system
• newborn homozygotes display reduced numbers of hemopoietic progenitor cells in the bone marrow and spleen
• no differences in the numbers and lineage commitment of progenitor cells are observed in neonatal liver
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