The Neuropathy of Teetering, A Neurological Mutation in the Mouse

TEETERING (gene symbol, tn) is a recessive lethal mutation which arose spontaneously in inbred mouse strain C3H/HeJ.^1,2 Homozygotes are recognizable at about 4 weeks of age by their abnormal behavior and die between 5 and 6 weeks.³

This paper describes pathological findings made in teetering mice and attempts to correlate pathological and clinical observations. It was found that (1) teetering is distinct from other neurological mutations of mice, both clinically and pathologically; and (2) the syndrome may be caused by deficiency and underdevelopment of selective regions of the central nervous system (CNS).

Materials and Methods Mice.—  Mutant mice together with their controls were obtained from Dr. M. C. Green, Staff Supervisor, the Mutant Stock Center of The Jackson Laboratory. Pathological studies were made of eight like-sexed littermate pairs consisting of the homozygous mutant (tn/tn) and the nonmutant normal control (tn/+ or +/+), ranging in age from 28 to