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Animal models of ventral body wall closure defects: a personal perspective on gastroschisis
1University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, USA. trevor.williams@uchsc.edu
Insights
Ventral body wall defects, like gastroschisis, are common but poorly understood birth defects. Developing animal models is crucial for studying their causes and improving treatments for this rising global health issue.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Birth Defect Research
- Comparative Medicine
Background:
- Ventral body wall malformations are a significant category of human birth defects.
- Gastroschisis, a specific defect, shows a concerning rise in global incidence.
- The molecular and cellular underpinnings of these defects remain largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the need for robust animal models to study gastroschisis etiology.
- To emphasize the challenges in identifying suitable animal models.
- To advocate for a collaborative effort in characterizing ventral body wall defects in animal species.
Main Methods:
- Review of current understanding of ventral body wall closure.
- Analysis of challenges in animal model development for gastroschisis.
- Proposal for a systematic approach to classify and characterize defects in model organisms.
Main Results:
- Current animal models are insufficient for comprehensive gastroschisis research.
- Identification and characterization of ventral body wall defects in animals are hampered by several issues.
- A standardized approach is needed to advance the field.
Conclusions:
- Progress in understanding human ventral body wall closure requires better animal models.
- Systematic recognition and classification of defects in animal models are essential.
- Such efforts are critical for addressing the increasing incidence of gastroschisis worldwide.
Abstract:
Malformations affecting the ventral body wall comprise one of the leading categories of human birth defects. Gastroschisis is a particularly important body wall closure defect as its incidence is rising worldwide. Although the occurrence of such defects is relatively common their molecular and cellular basis is very poorly understood. A robust animal model system to study the etiology of gastroschisis would be very useful, but several problems currently hamper the identification of such a model. A concerted effort is required to recognize, characterize, and classify ventral body wall defects in animal model species so that progress can be made in determining the mechanisms of ventral body wall closure during human development as well as combating the increased incidence of gastroschisis worldwide.
