User:Rockpocket/MGP/ARID4A

Model organisms

Model organisms have been used in the study of ARID4A function. A conditional knockout mouse line, called Arid4a^{tm1a(EUCOMM)Wtsi} was generated as part of the International Knockout Mouse Consortium program — a high-throughput mutagenesis project to generate and distribute animal models of disease to interested scientists — at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Male and female animals underwent a standardized phenotypic screen to determine the effects of deletion.

Arid4a knockout mouse phenotype

Characteristic	Phenotype
Homozygote viability	Abnormal
Recessive lethal study	Abnormal
Fertility	Normal
Body weight	Abnormal
Anxiety	Normal
Neurological assessment	Normal
Grip strength	Abnormal
Hot plate	Normal
Dysmorphology	Normal
Indirect calorimetry	Normal
Glucose tolerance test	Normal
Auditory brainstem response	Normal
DEXA	Abnormal
Radiography	Abnormal
Body temperature	Normal
Eye morphology	Normal
Clinical chemistry	Abnormal
Haematology	Abnormal
Peripheral blood lymphocytes	Abnormal
Micronucleus test	Normal
Heart weight	Normal
Skin Histopathology	Normal
Eye Histopathology	Normal
Salmonella infection	Normal
Citrobacter infection	Normal
All tests and analysis from

Twenty five tests were carried out and nine phenotypes were reported. Fewer homozygous mutant embryos were identified during gestation than expected, and in a seperate study less than the predicted Mendelian ratio survived until weaning. Homozygous mutant male adults has a reduced body weight curve and a decreased grip strength. Homozygous mutant adults of both sexes had a decreased body weight as determined by DEXA, displayed vertebral fusion and had clinical chemistry abnormalities including hypoalbuminemia and decreased circulating fructosamine levels. They also had haematological defects and an increased NK cell number.