mortality/aging
• after 14-18 backcrosses on a 129/Sv background, most homozygotes die at around 3 or 4 weeks of age; only rare homozygotes survive up to 6 weeks of age
• Background Sensitivity: unlike homozygotes that are backcrossed on a 129/Sv strain, homozygotes generated on a C57BL/6 background or an outbred background involving 129/Sv and CD-1 can survive into adulthood
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reproductive system
N |
• at postnatal day 1 (P1), neonatal male homozygotes display normal fetal testis, Leydig cell, and Sertoli cell development relative to wild-type controls
• in addition, spermatogonial multiplication and stem cell renewal appear unaffected
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• at 3 weeks of age, male homozygotes show severely reduced numbers or a total absence of spermatids
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• at 3 weeks of age, male homozygotes display numerous multinucleate or abnormally large spermatocytes in the seminiferous tubules, indicating degenerating or dying spermatocytes
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• at 3 weeks of age, TUNEL analysis indicates abundant apoptosis of pachytene spermatocytes
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• at 3 weeks of age, only 3% of mutant seminiferous tubules exhibit a tubular lumen vs 99% of wild-type tubules
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• at 3 weeks of age, the average mutant seminiferous tubular diameter is reduced ~40% relative to the wild-type
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• at 3 weeks of age, mutant Sertoli cell nuclei often contain several smaller nucleoli instead of one single nucleolus, indicating defective Sertoli cell maturation
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• at 3 weeks of age, mutant testes show absence of differentiating Leydig cells with an oval-to-round-shaped nucleus morphology, typical of maturing wild-type Leydig cells
• instead, clusters of fetal-type Leydig cells and some early spindle-shaped progenitor cells are found close to the seminiferous tubules and blood vessels
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• at 3 weeks of age, male homozygotes display a severely reduced number of developing adult-type Leydig cells relative to wild-type controls
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• at P27, male homozygotes display a >5-fold decrease in intratesticular testosterone levels relative to wild-type controls
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• Background Sensitivity: unlike homozygotes that are backcrossed on a 129/Sv strain, homozygotes generated on a C57BL/6 background or an outbred background involving 129/Sv and CD-1 display defective rather than arrested spermatogenesis
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• the first round of spermatogenesis arrests in late-meiotic prophase; as a result, only rare round spermatids are observed
• however, germ cell proliferation is not significantly decreased
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• male infertility is attributed to dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary gonadotropin signaling
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endocrine/exocrine glands
• at 3 weeks of age, only 3% of mutant seminiferous tubules exhibit a tubular lumen vs 99% of wild-type tubules
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• at 3 weeks of age, the average mutant seminiferous tubular diameter is reduced ~40% relative to the wild-type
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• at 3 weeks of age, mutant Sertoli cell nuclei often contain several smaller nucleoli instead of one single nucleolus, indicating defective Sertoli cell maturation
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• at 3 weeks of age, mutant testes show absence of differentiating Leydig cells with an oval-to-round-shaped nucleus morphology, typical of maturing wild-type Leydig cells
• instead, clusters of fetal-type Leydig cells and some early spindle-shaped progenitor cells are found close to the seminiferous tubules and blood vessels
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• at 3 weeks of age, male homozygotes display a severely reduced number of developing adult-type Leydig cells relative to wild-type controls
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• at P27, male homozygotes display a >5-fold decrease in intratesticular testosterone levels relative to wild-type controls
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growth/size/body
• at 3 weeks of age, male homozygotes are significantly smaller than wild-type controls
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• at 3 weeks of age, male homozygotes display a severely reduced growth relative to wild-type controls
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homeostasis/metabolism
• at P12, serum FSH levels in mutant male mice are reduced by ~50% relative to wild-type levels
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• at 3 weeks of age, serum LH leves in mutant male mice are below the detection limit of the RIA
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cellular
• at 3 weeks of age, male homozygotes show severely reduced numbers or a total absence of spermatids
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• at 3 weeks of age, male homozygotes display numerous multinucleate or abnormally large spermatocytes in the seminiferous tubules, indicating degenerating or dying spermatocytes
|
• the first round of spermatogenesis arrests in late-meiotic prophase; as a result, only rare round spermatids are observed
• however, germ cell proliferation is not significantly decreased
|
• at 3 weeks of age, TUNEL analysis indicates abundant apoptosis of pachytene spermatocytes
|