Birth defects belong to the most serious side effects of pharmaceutical compounds or environmental chemicals. In vivo, teratogens most often affect the normal development of bones, causing growth retardation, limb defects or craniofacial malformations. The embryonic stem cell test (EST) is one of the most promising models that allow the in vitro prediction of embryotoxicity, with one of its end...

due to the number of new substances coming into use every year and the increasing amounts of chemicals, which are introduced into the environment, there is a high demand for a rapid, reliable and cost-effective method for detection of developmental toxicity. to meet this challenge various in vitro techniques have been established additional to in vivo animal testing. this review introduces the ...

The peak acid output of the stomach in a group of 71 mothers of spina bifida children and in 71 matched controls was estimated indirectly by the serum level of group I pepsinogens. The mean levels did not differ significantly, suggesting that the conjectured teratogen is not specially acid-labile. The variance was significantly higher in index subjects than in controls, but the interpretation o...

Maternal consumption of alcohol (ethanol) during pregnancy [5] can result in a continuum of embryonic developmental abnormalities that vary depending on the severity, duration, and frequency of exposure of ethanol during gestation [6]. Alcohol is a teratogen, an environmental agent that impacts the normal development of an embryo or fetus [7]. In addition to doserelated concerns, factors such a...

Isotretinoin is a known human teratogen that can cause multiple malformations. At present, women who conceive one cycle after discontinuing isotretinoin are told that their teratogenic risk is not higher than baseline. We present a case of both-ear malformation in a newborn whose mother had taken isotretinoin for 2 years until one month prior to the time when she became pregnant. We suggest tha...

Objective Phocomelia is a rare congenital anomaly seen in 4 million births. Many factors play a role in the etiology of phocomelia such as environmental-genetic factors, teratogen exposure and amniotic band syndrome. Thalidomide, alcohol, cyclophosphamide and retinoic acid have also been implicated in the pathogenesis. Phocomelia may be isolated or accompanied by syndromes. We present a case of...

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling plays an important role during embryo development. We hypothesize that MAPK activation is a determinant of the fate of organogenesis-stage embryos exposed to insult. To test this hypothesis, CD1 mice were exposed to a model teratogen, hydroxyurea, on gestational day 9. Hydroxyurea exposure triggered a dramatic, transient increase in the activati...