Body weight is a measure of systemic health. Children with DS show reduced body weight (Cronk, 1978), while adult individuals with DS often have increased body weight due to obesity (de Asua et al., 2014). To assess for an effect of Kcnj6 gene dose, the body weights of mice of each genotype were examined from 1–12 months of age (Fig. 1). Body weight was significantly reduced in Ts65Dn:Kcnj6+++ vs. 2N:Kcnj6++ mice at all ages (Fig. 1, red vs. blue bar respectively; Table 1). Interestingly, while there was no difference between Ts65Dn:Kcnj6++− vs. Ts65Dn:Kcnj6+++ mice at early ages (Fig. 1, green vs. red bar, age intervals 1–2 and 3–4 months; Table 1), body weight was significantly increased in older Ts65Dn:Kcnj6++− vs. Ts65Dn:Kcnj6+++ mice (Fig. 1, green vs. red, age intervals 5–6 and 9–12 months; Table 1). These data are evidence that increased Kcnj6 gene dose may impact overall health status during aging.
