One-carbon metabolism and folate transporter genes: Do they factor prominently in the genetic etiology of neural tube defects?

Abstract

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are a broad class of congenital birth defects that result from the failure of neural tube closure during neurulation. Folic acid supplementation has been shown to prevent the occurrence of NTDs by as much as 70% in some human populations, and folate deficiency in a pregnant woman is associated with increased risk for having an NTD affected infant. Thus, folate transport-related genes and genes involved in the subsequent folate-mediated one-carbon metabolic pathway have long been considered primary candidates to study the genetic etiology of human NTDs. Herein, we review the genes involved in folate transport and one-carbon metabolism thus far identified as contributing variants that influence human NTD risk, and place these findings in the context of our evolving understanding of the complex genetic architecture underlying these defects.

• Authors: John W Steele, Sung-Eun Kim, Richard H Finnell
• Journal: Biochimie (Biochimie) Vol. 173 Pg. 27-32 (Jun 2020) ISSN: 1638-6183 [Electronic] France
• PMID: 32061804 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Folic Acid

Topics

• Biological Transport (genetics)
• Female
• Folic Acid (metabolism)
• Folic Acid Deficiency (genetics)
• Humans
• Metabolic Networks and Pathways (genetics)
• Neural Tube Defects (genetics)
• Pregnancy