Connecting teratogen‐induced congenital heart defects to neural crest cells and their effect on cardiac function

Abstract

Neural crest cells play many key roles in embryonic development, as demonstrated by the abnormalities that result from their specific absence or dysfunction. Unfortunately, these key cells are particularly sensitive to abnormalities in various intrinsic and extrinsic factors, such as genetic deletions or ethanol-exposure that lead to morbidity and mortality for organisms. This review discusses the role identified for a segment of neural crest is in regulating the morphogenesis of the heart and associated great vessels. The paradox is that their derivatives constitute a small proportion of cells to the cardiovascular system. Findings supporting that these cells impact early cardiac function raises the interesting possibility that they indirectly control cardiovascular development at least partially through regulating function. Making connections between insults to the neural crest, cardiac function, and morphogenesis is more approachable with technological advances. Expanding our understanding of early functional consequences could be useful in improving diagnosis and testing therapies.

WITHDRAWN: A multicenter case-control study on non-genetic risk factors in infants with congenital heart disease

“…15 The results indicated that maternal medication in early pregnancy, viral infection, hair dyeing and perm during pregnancy or half a year before pregnancy, house decoration, parents' exposure to environmental pollution are independent risk factors for congenital heart disease in infants and young children. [16][17][18] Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the incidence of CHD was associated with hair perm and dyeing, medication taken by mothers in early pregnancy, house decoration, virus infection, and exposure to pollution of working environment. 19 Viral infections and medicines used in early pregnancy have been considered as a vital factor of developing congenital cardiovascular disease.…”

Tongue Abnormalities Are Associated to a Maternal Folic Acid Deficient Diet in Mice

“…It is critical that the embryo generates and maintains a sufficient pool of NC progenitors that survive, proliferate, migrate, and differentiate appropriately [ 29 ] as deficiencies in these processes underlie a number of congenital craniofacial malformation disorders as seen in a number of human syndromes with craniofacial malformations [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

Environmental Risk Factors for Congenital Heart Disease

“…However, as discussed below, there is little clinical evidence that reduced RA levels affect human embryonic development. Second, ethanol exposure may have a directly deleterious effect on cardiac neural crest cells (Karunamuni et al 2014). These are cells that arise in the neural tube but, during early development, migrate into the cardiac OFT and pharyngeal arches, and contribute to the valves, septa, and aortic arch arteries.…”