Connexin 43 (Cx43) is expressed in the embryonic heart, cardiac neural crest (CNC) and neural tube, and germline knockout (KO) of Cx43 results in aberrant cardiac outflow tract (OFT) formation and abnormal coronary deployment. Prior studies suggest a vital role for CNC expression of Cx43 in heart development. Surprisingly, we found that conditional knockout (CKO) of Cx43 in the dorsal neural tu...

The human neural tube develops and closes during the third and fourth week after conception and is normally completed by 28 days post-conception. Malformations, knows as neural tube defects, occure, when the normal closure process fails. Several clinical types of neural tube defects are recognized, anencefaly and spina bifida being the most common. Such malformations are generally associated wi...

The genetic control of mammalian epithelial polarity and dynamics can be studied in vivo at cellular resolution during morphogenesis of the mouse neural tube. Themouse neural plate is a simple epithelium that is transformed into a columnar pseudostratified tube over the course of ∼24 h. Apical F-actin is known to be important for neural tube closure, but the precise roles of actin dynamics in t...

STUDY OBJECTIVE The aim was to study the relationship between birth prevalence of neural tube defect (including anencephaly) in Eastern Turkey before and after the Chernobyl disaster. DESIGN This was a prospective study of time trends in live births and stillbirths over the years 1985-1990. Medical and sociodemographic data were recorded for the mothers. SETTING Elazig, Eastern Turkey. SU...

OBJECTIVE To study the association between "pregnancy" prevalence (affected births and terminations) of neural tube defects in postcode districts of Glasgow and lead concentrations in domestic water. SETTING Postcode districts of Glasgow supplied by water from the Loch Katrine reservoir. DESIGN An ecological study. Lead concentrations from 1911 randomly selected domestic water samples were ...

OBJECTIVE Folic acid fortification has reduced neural tube defect prevalence by 50% to 70%. It is unlikely that fortification levels will be increased to reduce neural tube defect prevalence further. Therefore, it is important to identify other modifiable risk factors. Vitamin B(12) is metabolically related to folate; moreover, previous studies have found low B(12) status in mothers of children...

The genetic control of mammalian epithelial polarity and dynamics can be studied in vivo at cellular resolution during morphogenesis of the mouse neural tube. Themouse neural plate is a simple epithelium that is transformed into a columnar pseudostratified tube over the course of ∼24 h. Apical F-actin is known to be important for neural tube closure, but the precise roles of actin dynamics in t...

During vertebrate development, neural crest cells migrate from the dorsal neural tube and give rise to pigment cells and most peripheral ganglia. To study these complex processes it is helpful to make use of in vitro techniques, but the transient and morphologically ill-defined nature of neural crest cells makes it difficult to isolate a pure population of undifferentiated cells. We have used s...

Each year, more than 4500 pregnancies in the European Union are affected by neural tube defects. Unambiguous evidence of the effectiveness of periconceptional folic acid in preventing neural tube defects has been available since 1991, and improving folate status sufficiently could result in the prevention of more than two thirds of all neural tube defects. We report on trends in the prevalence ...