UCI discovers acid’s link to birth defects

UCI researchers say they have made a discovery that could help understand how birth defects develop in fetuses, officials announced Monday.

Retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A, is vital in human development when we’re embryos. The scientists have figured out how the levels of it are controlled in the developing body.

“For a long time people have focused on how it’s made in an embryo. But how do you regulate that?” said Tom Schilling, associate professor of developmental biology at UCI.

Schilling and university researchers Richard White, Qing Nie and Arthur Lander studied retinoic acid in zebra fish embryos, a common organism used in stem-cell research.

“A very precise control of the levels of retinoic acid within the tissues of the embryo is key to the proper development of many tissues including the brain, limbs and gonads,” said Martin Pera, director of the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

“This new study is significant because it provides important new insight into how the embryo achieves this precise control over how much retinoic acid is exposed at critical decision-making points in embryonic development,” he said.

Pera is not associated with the UCI study.

“The work will lead to an improved understanding of normal embryonic development and how birth defects can arise,” he said.

Cells naturally produce retinoic acid, which has been used to treat certain types of leukemia.

However, too much or too little in developing cells can cause problems. The body regulates the acid’s depletion by speeding it up or slowing it down depending on what it needs.

“The model we present brings home the importance of degradation as sort of the focal point,” Schilling said.

The study appears in today’s journal “Public Library of Science Biology.”

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].