title: Enabling research with human embryonic and fetal tissue resources.
abstract: Congenital anomalies are a significant burden on human health. Understanding the developmental origins of such anomalies is key to developing potential therapies. The Human Developmental Biology Resource (HDBR), based in London and Newcastle, UK, was established to provide embryonic and fetal material for a variety of human studies ranging from single gene expression analysis to large-scale genomic/transcriptomic studies. Increasingly, HDBR material is enabling the derivation of stem cell lines and contributing towards developments in tissue engineering. Use of the HDBR and other fetal tissue resources discussed here will contribute to the long-term aims of understanding the causation and pathogenesis of congenital anomalies, and developing new methods for their treatment and prevention.
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK d.gerrelli@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Dianne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gerrelli
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle NE1 3BZ, UK.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lisgo
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Copp
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle NE1 3BZ, UK.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lindsay
mesh_terms: D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D033041:Embryo Research; D004739:England; D033042:Fetal Research; D006801:Humans; D057905:Stem Cell Research; D014015:Tissue Banks / Q000639:trends*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*
keywords: Bioinformatics portals; Congenital anomalies; Gene expression; Human development; Human embryo; Tissue bank