GENES, MICRONUTRIENTS AND HOMEOBOX RELATED MALFORMATIONS

描述（改编自申请人的描述）：强流行病学 近年来积累的证据表明， 叶酸是一种有效的药物， 几种常见的先天性畸形代谢和分子基础 这种预防效果是完全未知的，并提供了一个独特的 有机会剖析相互作用的致病因素， 受外源性叶酸影响。研究人员设计了一系列 实验探索叶酸的营养和遗传范围， 神经管和心脏病因学中可能相互作用的相关因素 缺陷据推测，常见的多态性基因编码 叶酸途径中的关键酶将与不充分的母体相互作用， 微量营养素状况对胎儿微环境产生负面影响， 促进同源异型盒基因表达和组织特异性 发育畸形

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the Applicant's Description): Strong epidemiologic evidence has accumulated in recent years to suggest that periconceptional folic acid is an effective agent in reducing the occurrence and recurrence of several common congenital malformations. The metabolic and molecular basis for this preventive effect is completely unknown, and provides a unique opportunity to dissect the interacting etiologic factors that are positively affected by exogenous folic acid. The investigators designed a series of experiments to explore both the nutritional and genetic scope of folate- related factors that may interact in the etiology of neural tube and heart defects. It is hypothesized that common polymorphism in genes coding for critical enzymes in the folate pathway will interact with inadequate maternal micronutrient status to negatively affect the fetal microenvironment, and promote alterations in homeobox gene expression and tissue-specific developmental malformations.