mortality/aging
• many die suddenly around 10 months of age
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cardiovascular system
• develop atrial dilatation by 4 months of age without atrial or ventricular myocardial hypertrophy
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• 4-6 month old mutants exhibit spontaneous transient episodes of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias
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• 4-6 month old mutants exhibit spontaneous transient episodes of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias
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• by 12 months of age, nearly all (7 of 8) mutants appear to be in sustained atrial fibrillation
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• exhibit slower conduction over the surface of the atrial and ventricular myocardium
• significant prolongation of the AH interval but not the HV interval, suggesting a conduction delay above the bundle of His
• conduction defects are correlated with dephosphorylation of Gja5 (connexin40) and Gja1 (connexin43) and upregulation of protein phosphatase 1 beta, suggesting that defective conduction is a result of impaired gap-junction conductance rather than assembly
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• surface and intracardiac ECGs reveal prolongation of the PR interval
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• surface and intracardiac ECGs reveal prolongation of QRS duration
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homeostasis/metabolism
• many mutants show severe thrombosis by 10 months of age
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