title: Valproic acid teratogenicity: a toxicogenomics approach.
abstract: Embryonic development is a highly coordinated set of processes that depend on hierarchies of signaling and gene regulatory networks, and the disruption of such networks may underlie many cases of chemically induced birth defects. The antiepileptic drug valproic acid (VPA) is a potent inducer of neural tube defects (NTDs) in human and mouse embryos. As with many other developmental toxicants however, the mechanism of VPA teratogenicity is unknown. Using microarray analysis, we compared the global gene expression responses to VPA in mouse embryos during the critical stages of teratogen action in vivo with those in cultured P19 embryocarcinoma cells in vitro. Among the identified VPA-responsive genes, some have been associated previously with NTDs or VPA effects [vinculin, metallothioneins 1 and 2 (Mt1, Mt2), keratin 1-18 (Krt1-18)], whereas others provide novel putative VPA targets, some of which are associated with processes relevant to neural tube formation and closure [transgelin 2 (Tagln2), thyroid hormone receptor interacting protein 6, galectin-1 (Lgals1), inhibitor of DNA binding 1 (Idb1), fatty acid synthase (Fasn), annexins A5 and A11 (Anxa5, Anxa11)], or with VPA effects or known molecular actions of VPA (Lgals1, Mt1, Mt2, Id1, Fasn, Anxa5, Anxa11, Krt1-18). A subset of genes with a transcriptional response to VPA that is similar in embryos and the cell model can be evaluated as potential biomarkers for VPA-induced teratogenicity that could be exploited directly in P19 cell-based in vitro assays. As several of the identified genes may be activated or repressed through a pathway of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition and specificity protein 1 activation, our data support a role of HDAC as an important molecular target of VPA action in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Division of Toxicology, The Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kultima
authors.forename: Anna-Maja
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Nyström
authors.forename: Birger
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Scholz
authors.forename: Anne-Lee
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Gustafson
authors.forename: Lennart
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dencker
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stigson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000633:toxicity*; D017209:Apoptosis; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006655:Histone Deacetylases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D043922:Toxicogenetics / Q000379:methods*; D014635:Valproic Acid / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D015415:Biomarkers; D014635:Valproic Acid; D006655:Histone Deacetylases