endocrine/exocrine glands
N |
• as mutants age, no significant differences in thyroid size or weight is observed relative to wild-type
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• at 6 months of age, histology is altered; follicular structure is disturbed with few normal follicles remaining
• no increase in thyroid gland weight is observed in 6-8 week-old mice treated with TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) for 1 week, whereas wild-type mice show a 100% increase in thyroid weight; glands in mutants actually decrease in weight due to slight decrease in follicular lumen size
• no increase in thyrocyte number is observed after TSH treatment in contrast to increase seen in wild-type; thryocytes show hypertrophic response to TSH treatment
• after TSH treatment, colloid area is reduced unlike wild-type thyroids
• mutant thyroids show no response to goitrogenic diet, whereas wild-type mice readily develop hyperplastic goiters
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• cells are often enlarged, columnar and have large nuclei at 6 months of age
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• TSH-induced thyroid hormone release is almost entirely abrogated in mutants
• impaired pinocytic uptake of colloid and reduction in pinocytic vesicle formation in thyroid follicular epithelium upon TSH stimulation is observed in mutants versus wild-type
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• after 6 months of age, about half of animals display overt hypothyroidism
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homeostasis/metabolism
• at 6 months, mice show low T4 levels compared to wild-type
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• beginning at 2 months of age, TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) plasma levels start to rise and are significantly higher than wild-type at 6 months of age
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