behavior/neurological
• in a rotarod test, aged (12-15 months), but not adult (3-6 months), homozygotes perform significantly worse than wild-type controls at either accelerating speed or constant velocity
• however, stride analysis revealed so signs of ataxia or abnormal walking gait
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• aged, but not adult, homozygotes show significantly reduced hanging ability from a horizontal bar or cage wire relative to wild-type controls
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nervous system
N |
• at 12 months of age, homozygotes show normal gross neuronal architecture and morphology in the cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum
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• at 12, but not at 3 months of age, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) staining revealed a significant reduction in the average number of spinal motor neurons in the ventral horn relative to wild-type controls
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• aged homozygotes display ~30% of NMJs with axon terminal sprouts relative to 60% in age-matched wild-type controls
• however, the number of major nerve terminal branches per NMJ is not significantly altered
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• aged homozygotes exhibit an impaired ability to compensate for motor neuron loss by axon terminal sprouting
• the % of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) exhibiting axon terminal sprouts is about half of that in wild-type controls
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muscle
• at 3 months of age, homozygotes show a mild increase in MHCI (slow muscle fiber) protein levels in the soleus relative to age-matched wild-type controls
• at 12 months of age, homozygotes display lower MHC II (fast muscle fiber) and higher MHC I (slow muscle fiber) protein levels in the soleus relative to age-matched controls
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• in the soleus muscle, aged homozygotes show a slight increase in the median cross-sectional area of slow muscle fibers relative to age-matched wild-type controls
• however, no such change is observed in the soleus fast muscle fibers
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• in the soleus muscle, aged homozygotes show a significantly lower ratio of fast to slow muscle fibers (1:1) than age-matched wild-type controls (~3:2)
• however, muscle fiber subtype composition is normal in the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle
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• homozygotes exhibit loss of muscle strength during aging, as measured by hanging time on a horizontal bar or cage wire
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growth/size/body
N |
• adult and aged male and female homozygotes display normal body weights relative to age-matched wild-type controls
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limbs/digits/tail
• at 3 months of age, homozygotes show a mild increase in MHCI (slow muscle fiber) protein levels in the soleus relative to age-matched wild-type controls
• at 12 months of age, homozygotes display lower MHC II (fast muscle fiber) and higher MHC I (slow muscle fiber) protein levels in the soleus relative to age-matched controls
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