Premium
What are the molecular mechanisms of neural tube defects?
Author(s) -
Corcoran Jonathan
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1521-1878(199801)20:1<6::aid-bies3>3.0.co;2-t
Subject(s) - neural tube , folic acid , mutant , retinoic acid , biology , endoderm , hindgut , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , endocrinology , medicine , embryo , embryonic stem cell , gene , botany , larva , midgut
Neural tube defects (NTDs) are some of the most common human malformations. The vast majority of NTDs can be prevented by the administration of folic acid; however, to date there has been no effective treatment of folic acid‐resistant NTDs. A recent paper 1 has confirmed an earlier report 2 that the administration of inositol to the curly tail mutant mouse, which is a model of folate‐resistant NTDs, can cure such defects. The molecular pathway by which this is achieved is thought to occur by the up‐regulation of the retinoic acid receptor β in the underlying hindgut endoderm, correcting a proliferation defect. However, alternative explanations also may account for NTDs. BioEssays 20:6–8, 1998. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.