Effects of lsotretinoin on the Behavior of Neural Crest Cells in Vitro
Abstract
Isotretinoin (13-cis-retinoic acid), an anti-acne medication, has been found to cause severe birth defects which affect the craniofacial elements, ear, heart, thymus, and central nervous system. Many of these structures receive contributions from the cranial neural crest. Here, we examine the possibility that these teratogenic effects are due to disturbances in neural crest development. Cranial and trunk neural crest explant cultures were exposed to different concentrations of isotretinoin and the cell morphology was monitored at daily intervals. Treated neural crest cells often became rounded or spindle shaped, separated from their neighbors, and frequently detached from the substrate or clumped together. In contrast, neural tube cells and cardiac fibroblasts were relatively unaffected by the drug. These results suggest that isotretinoin selectively affects neural crest cells by decreasing their cell-substratum adhesion.
Additional Information
© 1987 Academic Press, Inc. Received November 3, 1986; accepted in revised farm April 20, 1987. We are grateful to Dr. Peter Sorter and Hoffman La-Roche for providing us with isotretinoin. We thank Drs. Gabrielle LeBlanc, Danuta Krotoski, James Coulombe, Georgia Guillory, and Tom Lallier for their helpful comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by Monsanto Company and Basic Research Grant 1-896 from the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. M. Bronner-Fraser is a Sloan Fellow.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 66160
- DOI
- 10.1016/0012-1606(87)90449-0
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20160414-093724625
- Monsanto Company
- 1-896
- March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
- Created
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2016-04-14Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field