mortality/aging
• only ~40% of homozygotes survived birth; these pups were able to nurse, feed, mature into adults, and mate successfully
• the oldest mice survived over 18 months without obvious morbidity or mortality
|
• homozygous mutant pups from heterozygous matings were obtained at less than half (~40%) the expected number, with 30 of 260 (11%) being mutant pups versus 77 of 260 (30%) wild-type pups
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growth/size/body
• at P21 and P28, the average body weight was slightly smaller than that of wild-type and heterozygous controls
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nervous system
exencephaly
(
J:256438
)
• at E12.5-E17.5, 15 of 22 (68%) of embryos exhibited exencephaly
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vision/eye
• all adult homozygotes whose eyes were dissected (11 of 11) had persistent hyaloid vasculature that appeared as a black, pigmented retrolental mass present bilaterally
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• at E12.5-E14.5, 3 of 11 embryos exhibited severe microphthalmia
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• in some adult eyes, the retrolental mass appeared to have integrated into the retina disrupting its morphology
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• at P5, the retinal vascular network appeared to be less dense, with >30% reduction in the density of branch points per mm2 relative to wild-type controls
• during retinal angiogenesis, endothelial cells showed a ~50% decrease in the number of filopodia per mm along the vascular front
|
anophthalmia
(
J:256438
)
• at E12.5-E14.5, 2 of 11 embryos exhibited anophthalmia
|
cardiovascular system
• at P5, the retinal vascular network appeared to be less dense, with >30% reduction in the density of branch points per mm2 relative to wild-type controls
• during retinal angiogenesis, endothelial cells showed a ~50% decrease in the number of filopodia per mm along the vascular front
|
• at P5, the retinal vascular network appeared to be less dense, with >30% reduction in the density of branch points per mm2 relative to wild-type controls
|
pigmentation
• all surviving homozygotes had a white belly spot; a few also had a white spot on the back
|
belly spot
(
J:256438
)
• all surviving homozygotes had a white belly spot
|
limbs/digits/tail
syndactyly
(
J:256438
)
• ~50% of adult homozygotes had webbed digits, usually on the forelimbs
|
kinked tail
(
J:256438
)
• ~75% of adult homozygotes had a visible kink near the tip of the tail
|
integument
• all surviving homozygotes had a white belly spot; a few also had a white spot on the back
|
belly spot
(
J:256438
)
• all surviving homozygotes had a white belly spot
|
behavior/neurological
N |
• young adult homozygotes did not display obvious circling or shaking and showed a normal Preyer reflex
|