reproductive system
• at 4 weeks of age, seminiferous tubules exhibit vacuolation and disrupted arrangement of spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes
• by 8 weeks of age, fewer vacuole-like structures are found, germ cells appear disorganized, and elongated spermatozoa are absent
|
• at 4 weeks of age, seminiferous tubules exhibit vacuolation
• however, fewer vacuole-like structures are found by 8 weeks of age
|
small testis
(
J:222054
)
• at 4 weeks of age, testes are significantly smaller than wild-type testes
|
• at 4 weeks of age, testes are ~20% the weight of control testes
• by 8 weeks of age, testes are ~50% the weight of control testes
|
• by 8 weeks of age, testes are almost completely devoid of mature spermatozoa, as shown by H&E staining of the seminiferous tubules and epididymides
• spermatogenesis is disrupted at all levels, as germ cells are either arranged in a disorderly manner or completely absent
• no normal sperm are observed in a sperm smear collected from P56 epididymides
|
• at P38, flow cytometric analysis revealed that meiosis is blocked at the diploid stage
• surprisingly, the numbers of haploid and diploid cells are almost identical at P56, indicating that some cells can proceed to the next stage; however, any haploid cells still present at P56 appear abnormal
|
• by 8 weeks of age, cauda epididymides contain some round cells of different sizes and shapes but no normal sperm
|
• males fail to produce pups
|
endocrine/exocrine glands
• at 4 weeks of age, seminiferous tubules exhibit vacuolation and disrupted arrangement of spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes
• by 8 weeks of age, fewer vacuole-like structures are found, germ cells appear disorganized, and elongated spermatozoa are absent
|
• at 4 weeks of age, seminiferous tubules exhibit vacuolation
• however, fewer vacuole-like structures are found by 8 weeks of age
|
small testis
(
J:222054
)
• at 4 weeks of age, testes are significantly smaller than wild-type testes
|
• at 4 weeks of age, testes are ~20% the weight of control testes
• by 8 weeks of age, testes are ~50% the weight of control testes
|
cellular
• at P38, flow cytometric analysis revealed that meiosis is blocked at the diploid stage
• surprisingly, the numbers of haploid and diploid cells are almost identical at P56, indicating that some cells can proceed to the next stage; however, any haploid cells still present at P56 appear abnormal
|