BACKGROUND Anthracyclines are essential for the treatment of malignancies observed in pregnant patients. Knowledge of the potential side-effects of chemotherapy on the developing fetus is essential for patient counseling. PATIENTS AND METHODS We collected information concerning patients treated with anthracyclines during pregnancy from a review of literature between 1976 and 2001 and our expe...

Most fetal thymocytes from 14-d mouse embryos are Thy-1+, L3T4-, Ly-2-, and express the receptor for interleukin 2 (IL-2). The development of thymocytes has been followed in fetal thymus organ cultures. When fetal thymus from 14-d embryos were cultured for a 6-d period, thymocytes increased in number 20-40-fold, and 95% became Thy-1+, L3T4+, Ly-2+. The addition of IL-2 to organ cultures of 14-d...

nowadays, new advances in the use of cell free fetal dna (cffdna) in maternal plasma of pregnant women has provided the possibility of applying cffdna in prenatal diagnosis as a non-invasive method. in contrary to the risks of invasive methods that affect both mother and fetus, applying cffdna is proven to be highly effective with lower risk. one of the applications of prenatal diagnosis is fet...

Overexpression of the conserved Ca(2+)-binding proteins calreticulin and calsequestrin impairs cardiac function, leading to premature death. Calreticulin is vital for embryonic development, but also impairs glucocorticoid action. Glucocorticoid overexposure during late fetal life causes intra-uterine growth retardation and programmed hypertension in adulthood. To determine whether intra-uterine...

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and related chemicals are potent cardiovascular teratogens in developing piscine and avian species. In the present study we investigated the effects of TCDD on murine cardiovascular development. Pregnant mice (C57Bl6N) were dosed with 1.5-24 microg TCDD/kg on gestation day (GD) 14.5. At GD 17.5, fetal mice exhibited a dose-related decrease in heart-to-...