Speciality Medical Dialogues
    • facebook
    • twitter
    Login Register
    • facebook
    • twitter
    Login Register
    • Medical Dialogues
    • Education Dialogues
    • Business Dialogues
    • Medical Jobs
    • Medical Matrimony
    • MD Brand Connect
    Speciality Medical Dialogues
    • Editorial
    • News
        • Anesthesiology
        • Cancer
        • Cardiac Sciences
        • Critical Care
        • Dentistry
        • Dermatology
        • Diabetes and Endo
        • Diagnostics
        • ENT
        • Featured Research
        • Gastroenterology
        • Geriatrics
        • Medicine
        • Nephrology
        • Neurosciences
        • Nursing
        • Obs and Gynae
        • Ophthalmology
        • Orthopaedics
        • Paediatrics
        • Parmedics
        • Pharmacy
        • Psychiatry
        • Pulmonology
        • Radiology
        • Surgery
        • Urology
    • Practice Guidelines
        • Anesthesiology Guidelines
        • Cancer Guidelines
        • Cardiac Sciences Guidelines
        • Critical Care Guidelines
        • Dentistry Guidelines
        • Dermatology Guidelines
        • Diabetes and Endo Guidelines
        • Diagnostics Guidelines
        • ENT Guidelines
        • Featured Practice Guidelines
        • Gastroenterology Guidelines
        • Geriatrics Guidelines
        • Medicine Guidelines
        • Nephrology Guidelines
        • Neurosciences Guidelines
        • Obs and Gynae Guidelines
        • Ophthalmology Guidelines
        • Orthopaedics Guidelines
        • Paediatrics Guidelines
        • Psychiatry Guidelines
        • Pulmonology Guidelines
        • Radiology Guidelines
        • Surgery Guidelines
        • Urology Guidelines
    LoginRegister
    Speciality Medical Dialogues
    LoginRegister
    • Home
    • Editorial
    • News
      • Anesthesiology
      • Cancer
      • Cardiac Sciences
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diabetes and Endo
      • Diagnostics
      • ENT
      • Featured Research
      • Gastroenterology
      • Geriatrics
      • Medicine
      • Nephrology
      • Neurosciences
      • Nursing
      • Obs and Gynae
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopaedics
      • Paediatrics
      • Parmedics
      • Pharmacy
      • Psychiatry
      • Pulmonology
      • Radiology
      • Surgery
      • Urology
    • Practice Guidelines
      • Anesthesiology Guidelines
      • Cancer Guidelines
      • Cardiac Sciences Guidelines
      • Critical Care Guidelines
      • Dentistry Guidelines
      • Dermatology Guidelines
      • Diabetes and Endo Guidelines
      • Diagnostics Guidelines
      • ENT Guidelines
      • Featured Practice Guidelines
      • Gastroenterology Guidelines
      • Geriatrics Guidelines
      • Medicine Guidelines
      • Nephrology Guidelines
      • Neurosciences Guidelines
      • Obs and Gynae Guidelines
      • Ophthalmology Guidelines
      • Orthopaedics Guidelines
      • Paediatrics Guidelines
      • Psychiatry Guidelines
      • Pulmonology Guidelines
      • Radiology Guidelines
      • Surgery Guidelines
      • Urology Guidelines
    • Home
    • News
    • Cardiac Sciences
    • Risk factors for...

    Risk factors for congenital heart defects may lie both inside and outside the heart : PLOS Biology Study

    Written by supriya kashyap kashyap Published On 2016-09-11T09:42:31+05:30  |  Updated On 11 Sept 2016 9:42 AM IST
    Risk factors for congenital heart defects may lie both inside and outside the heart : PLOS Biology Study

    Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are a leading cause of birth defect-related deaths. Understanding how genetic alterations cause such defects is complicated by the fact that many of the critical genes are unknown, and those that are known often contribute only small increases in CHD risk.


    In new research publishing September 8 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, Anne Calof, Arthur Lander and colleagues report that the role of genes in CHD is more complex than previously realized and that overall risk is determined by a combination of gene effects both inside and outside of the heart itself.


    Normal heart formation depends on interactions of multiple types of cells that collaborate in precise times and places throughout development to build the heart's intricate structures. To figure out how these interactions can go awry, the Calof-Lander team studied atrial septal defects (ASDs, a common type of heart defect) in a mouse model of the developmental disorder Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS).


    Most cases of Cornelia de Lange Syndrome are caused by mutations that inactivate a single copy of Nipbl, a gene that directs the expression of many hundreds of other genes in tissues throughout the body. Just as people with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome have a high incidence of heart defects, 30 percent of mice that harbor similar Nipbl mutations exhibit atrial septal defects.


    Employing genetically modified mouse models, the researchers used a novel technology to selectively introduce or remove Nipbl mutations in different tissues during embryonic development. Unexpectedly, they found that no Nipbl deficiency in any single tissue - including the tissue that forms the heart itself - could singlehandedly account for the development of atrial septal defects. Rather, the development of heart defects was determined by interactions between heart-forming tissues and the rest of the body. In fact, Nipbl deficiency in some tissues even seemed to protect against the development of atrial septal defects, in certain situations.


    In a Primer article that accompanies this research, Bruce Gelb, MD, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explains why these were "mind-bending results" and writes that "this work provides novel insights into incomplete penetrance and oligogenic effects underlying CHD." He adds that the novel observations "add further complexity to the way in which we need to think about CHD pathogenesis".


    "Our results lead us to hypothesize that heart defects such as ASDs occur when the heart does not grow quickly enough to meet the demands of the developing body in other words, that heart size and body size must be coordinated for the heart to develop without defects," said Calof, Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Developmental & Cell Biology at the University of California, Irvine. "To our knowledge, this is the first genetic demonstration that major risk factors for heart defects are likely to lie outside of the heart itself."


    "When a single gene change causes a birth defect, we often assume that it's because one thing goes wrong in one cell type. The big difference in our studies may have to do with the fact that Nipbl controls a large number of other genes," said Lander, the Donald Bren Professor of Developmental & Cell Biology and director of UCI's Center for Complex Biological Systems. "Given that most human CHDs are now thought to be caused by gene variants acting in combination, what we learned from Nipbl-deficient mice may actually be more typical of the way most CHDs arise."


    Calof and Lander, working together with researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, helped identify the causative gene for Cornelia de Lange Syndrome in 2004. The discovery of this gene, Nipbl, has led to the development of tools for molecular diagnosis of CdLS and has spawned a large body of biomedical research on CdLS and related syndromes. As part of this effort, Calof, Lander and their UCI colleague Thomas Schilling, Professor of Developmental & Cell Biology, have developed animal models of CdLS that are being used to find ways to prevent and/or treat this disorder. Their work has been recognized by the CdLS Foundation, and UCI has been designated a Center of Research Excellence in Cornelia de Lange Syndrome.

    CHDChildren’s Hospital of Philadelphiacongenital heart defectsDr Bruce Gelbjournal PLOS BiologyUCI's Center for Complex Biological SystemsUniversity of California
    Source : Press Release

    Disclaimer: This site is primarily intended for healthcare professionals. Any content/information on this website does not replace the advice of medical and/or health professionals and should not be construed as medical/diagnostic advice/endorsement or prescription. Use of this site is subject to our terms of use, privacy policy, advertisement policy. © 2020 Minerva Medical Treatment Pvt Ltd

    supriya kashyap kashyap
    supriya kashyap kashyap
      Show Full Article
      Next Story
      Similar Posts
      NO DATA FOUND

      • Email: info@medicaldialogues.in
      • Phone: 011 - 4372 0751

      Website Last Updated On : 12 Oct 2022 7:06 AM GMT
      Company
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Our Team
      • Reach our Editor
      • Feedback
      • Submit Article
      Ads & Legal
      • Advertise
      • Advertise Policy
      • Terms and Conditions
      • Privacy Policy
      • Editorial Policy
      • Comments Policy
      • Disclamier
      Medical Dialogues is health news portal designed to update medical and healthcare professionals but does not limit/block other interested parties from accessing our general health content. The health content on Medical Dialogues and its subdomains is created and/or edited by our expert team, that includes doctors, healthcare researchers and scientific writers, who review all medical information to keep them in line with the latest evidence-based medical information and accepted health guidelines by established medical organisations of the world.

      Any content/information on this website does not replace the advice of medical and/or health professionals and should not be construed as medical/diagnostic advice/endorsement or prescription.Use of this site is subject to our terms of use, privacy policy, advertisement policy. You can check out disclaimers here. © 2025 Minerva Medical Treatment Pvt Ltd

      © 2025 - Medical Dialogues. All Rights Reserved.
      Powered By: Hocalwire
      X
      We use cookies for analytics, advertising and to improve our site. You agree to our use of cookies by continuing to use our site. To know more, see our Cookie Policy and Cookie Settings.Ok