mortality/aging
• from 3 weeks of age, mice need a warm environment with easy access to food and water in order to survive
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growth/size/body
• mice are normal size at 1 week of age but are approximately half the weight of wild-type mice at 3 week and the average body weight is about 35% of wild-type at 12 weeks
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• mice normally until 2 weeks of age and show growth retardation after this point
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endocrine/exocrine glands
• growth hormone-expressing somatotroph cells are not detected in anterior lobes of the pituitary gland
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• the body weight-adjusted pituitary gland weight is 40% of that of wild-type mice and the anterior lobe is particularly hypoplastic while the middle and posterior lobes are similar in size to wild-type mice
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homeostasis/metabolism
• serum levels of total thyroxine are 20% of wild-type littermates
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• circulating prolactin levels are undetectable
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• circulating IGF-1 levels are undetectable
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• circulating adrenocorticotropin levels are slightly higher than in wild-type mice, but there are large individual differences regardless of genotype or sex
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nervous system
• growth hormone-expressing somatotroph cells are not detected in anterior lobes of the pituitary gland
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• the body weight-adjusted pituitary gland weight is 40% of that of wild-type mice and the anterior lobe is particularly hypoplastic while the middle and posterior lobes are similar in size to wild-type mice
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