First Author | Vacha SJ | Year | 1997 |
Journal | Dev Genet | Volume | 21 |
Issue | 3 | Pages | 212-22 |
PubMed ID | 9397537 | Mgi Jnum | J:44793 |
Mgi Id | MGI:1101332 | Doi | 10.1002/(SICI)1520-6408(1997)21:3<212::AID-DVG4>3.0.CO;2-A |
Citation | Vacha SJ, et al. (1997) Identification of a growth arrest specific (gas 5) gene by differential display as a candidate gene for determining susceptibility to hyperthermia-induced exencephaly in mice. Dev Genet 21(3):212-22 |
abstractText | Neural tube defects (NTDs) are among the most common congenital malformations, affecting approximately 1 per 1,000 liveborn infants in the United States [Nakano, 1973; Richards et al., 1972]. Maternal exposure to hyperthermia, either through recreational sources or due to an infectious agent, is thought to account for approximately 10% of observed NTD cases. The specific genes conferring susceptibility or resistance to hyperthermia-induced NTDs have not been identified. This study used differential display-polymerase chain reaction (DD-PCR) to characterize alterations in gene expression in the anterior embryonic neural tube of two highly inbred murine strains (SWV/Fnn, LM/Bc/Fnn) known to differ in their genetically determined susceptibility to heat-induced NTDs. Herein, we report the neural tube-specific differential expression of the growth arrest specific (gas 5) gene in the highly susceptible SWV/Fnn strain during neural tube closure (NTC). Although the expression of gas 5 did not appear to be altered by the teratogenic heat treatment, its spatial and strain-specific pattern of expression makes it an excellent candidate gene responsible for the observed genetic differences in NTD susceptibility between these two inbred murine strains. |