METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR IDENTIFYING EMBRYOTOXIC COMPOUNDS

摘要

The invention relates to methods for identifying compounds capable of altering embryonic development, in other words, compounds having embryotoxic or teratogenic activity. Specifically, the invention relates to the capacity of said compounds to alter NTE activity in stem cells, such that said cells can be used to detect chemical compounds having teratogenic or reproduction-altering capacity. The alterations can be at the gene or protein expression level or at enzymatic level. The invention also relates to stem cells modified to express a reporter gene under the control of the NTE gene promoter as well as to the use of said cells for identifying compounds having embryotoxic activity.