Mouse background modulates lifespan of <i>Tor1a^ΔE/ΔE</i> mice.

<p>A. Kaplan-Meier survival curves of <i>Tor1a^ΔE/ΔE</i> mice. D2, B6 and CD1-ICR genes modulate lifespan in <i>Tor1a^ΔE/ΔE</i> mice compared to original 129 background (Chi-square test used to generate p values: p<0.0001 for 129 versus 129/D2, 129/C57; p<0.05 for 129 versus 129/CD1). B. CLUSTALW2 multiple sequence alignment of genomic DNA from D2, B6, and 129 wildtype mice and Refseq demonstrates that all three strains have aspartic acid (D) at position 217 (*) of the mouse torsinA protein; figure depicts base pairs which correspond to the amino acid coding sequence 212–221 (AERITDVALD) C. Long-lived F2 129/D2 <i>Tor1a^ΔE/ΔE</i> mouse and <i>Tor1a^+/+</i> littermate. 129/D2 <i>Tor1a^ΔE/ΔE</i> mouse is smaller than control at postnatal day 14 (a.), poorly groomed with partially closed eyes (b.), exhibits improper limb placement (c.), and demonstrates hindlimb clasping on tail suspension tests (d., e.).