Teratogenic factors affect transcription factor expression.

Chemical compounds are produced every day, many with adverse effects on human health, and hence it is vital to predict the risks to humans simply, rapidly, and accurately. Teratogens have a serious impact on fetal development. This has been studied mainly by phenotypic analysis of experimental animals. However, since phenotypes can vary within different species, we established a new evaluation system based on our recent finding that teratogens influence Hox gene expression in mice. Similarly to the Hox gene expression changes, the expression patterns of several transcription factors involved in development, including the Dlx, Irx, Sall, and T-box families, were altered after 6 h of exposure to retinoic acid (RA) or 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). The expression changes in Dlx4, Dlx6, Irx5, Sall2, Sall3, Sall4, Tbx10, and Tbx22 were linked to teratogen-induced phenotypes, and our results indicate that expression changes in developmental transcription factors can help to predict teratogenic risk.