title: Early morphological abnormalities in splotch mouse embryos and predisposition to gene- and retinoic acid-induced neural tube defects.
abstract: Genetic and environmental factors contribute to an individual's neural tube defect liability. In the mouse, the gene mutation Splotch (Sp) causes a pigmentation defect in heterozygotes while homozygotes have spina bifida +/- exencephaly. Splotch homozygotes, heterozygotes, and wild-type embryos were examined for somite number, anterior neuropore closure, and posterior neuropore length. The aim was to distinguish potentially affected homozygotes early in pathogenesis and find a morphological basis for increased teratogen susceptibility in heterozygotes. Posterior neuropore closure as well as anterior neuropore closure was significantly delayed in potentially affected Sp as compared to wild-type litter embryos exceeding the incidence found in day-10-diagnosed homozygotes. Part of this excess was attributed to a transient delay in heterozygotes which in turn might predispose to retinoic acid-induced neural tube defects. This idea was supported by an outcross of Sp heterozygote males by inbred SWV females and wild-type males by SWV where a significant increase in retinoic acid-induced neural tube defects was found in Sp carrier litters.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000196:embryology*; D005796:Genes; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000235:genetics*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D014212:Tretinoin