image: Neural tube formation was compromised in frog embryos treated with the widely-used antiepileptic drug valproic acid and led to defects. view more
Credit: Sequerra et al., JNeurosci (2018)
A common drug for treating epileptic seizures may lead to birth defects if used during pregnancy by interfering with glutamate signaling in earliest stages of nervous system development, finds a study in frogs published in JNeurosci. The research could inform the development of new epilepsy medications that are safer for pregnant women.
The brain and spinal cord begin as a group of cells in the embryo that folds in on itself to form the neural tube. Some of the most common birth defects, such as spina bifida, are caused by a neural tube that fails to close completely. The side effects of antiepileptic drugs are thought to contribute to the prevalence of birth defects among children of epileptic mothers, but the mechanisms involved are not known.
In their study of clawed frogs, Laura Borodinsky and colleagues investigated the role of neurotransmitters in neural tube development. They found that the neurotransmitter glutamate and N-methyl-aspartate (NMDA) receptors play an important part in the proliferation and migration of the cells that form the neural tube, which was compromised in embryos treated with the widely-used antiepileptic drug valproic acid and led to defects.
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Article: NMDA receptor signaling is important for neural tube formation and for preventing antiepileptic drug-induced neural tube defects
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2634-17.2018
Corresponding author: Laura Borodinsky (University of California Davis and Shriners Hospital for Children Northern California, Sacramento, USA), lnborodinsky@ucdavis.edu
About JNeurosci
JNeurosci, the Society for Neuroscience's first journal, was launched in 1981 as a means to communicate the findings of the highest quality neuroscience research to the growing field. Today, the journal remains committed to publishing cutting-edge neuroscience that will have an immediate and lasting scientific impact, while responding to authors' changing publishing needs, representing breadth of the field and diversity in authorship.
About The Society for Neuroscience
The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 37,000 members in more than 90 countries and over 130 chapters worldwide.