title: 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.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843-4458, USA.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Vacha
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mackler
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Koebbe
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Finnell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000235:genetics*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000235:genetics*; D011247:Pregnancy; D020537:RNA, Small Nucleolar; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; D020537:RNA, Small Nucleolar; C109857:growth arrest specific transcript 5