Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2010 Oct;34(10):1714-22. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01258.x. Epub 2010 Jul 5.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a set of developmental defects caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. Clinical manifestations of FASD are highly variable and include mental retardation and developmental defects of the heart, kidney, muscle, skeleton, and craniofacial structures. Specific effects of ethanol on fetal cells include induction of apoptosis as well as inhibition of proliferation, differentiation, and migration. This complex set of responses suggests that a bioinformatics approach could clarify some of the pathways involved in these responses.
In this study, the responses of fetal stem cells derived from the amniotic fluid (AFSCs) to treatment with ethanol have been examined. Large-scale transcriptome analysis of ethanol-treated AFSCs indicates that genes involved in skeletal development and ossification are up-regulated in these cells. Therefore, the effect of ethanol on osteogenic differentiation of AFSCs was studied.
Exposure to ethanol during the first 48 hours of an osteogenic differentiation protocol increased in vitro calcium deposition by AFSCs and increased alkaline phosphatase activity. In contrast, ethanol treatment later in the differentiation protocol (day 8) had no significant effect on the activity of alkaline phosphatase.
These results suggest that transient exposure of AFSCs to ethanol during early differentiation enhances osteogenic differentiation of the cells.
胎儿酒精谱系障碍（FASD）是一组由产前酒精暴露引起的发育缺陷。FASD 的临床表现高度可变，包括智力迟钝和心脏、肾脏、肌肉、骨骼以及颅面结构的发育缺陷。乙醇对胎儿细胞的具体影响包括诱导细胞凋亡以及抑制增殖、分化和迁移。这一系列复杂的反应表明，生物信息学方法可以阐明这些反应涉及的一些途径。
在这项研究中，检查了羊水来源的胎儿干细胞（AFSCs）对乙醇处理的反应。对乙醇处理的 AFSCs 的大规模转录组分析表明，参与骨骼发育和骨化的基因在这些细胞中上调。因此，研究了乙醇对 AFSCs 成骨分化的影响。
在成骨分化方案的前 48 小时内暴露于乙醇中，增加了 AFSCs 的体外钙沉积，并增加了碱性磷酸酶的活性。相比之下，在分化方案的后期（第 8 天）用乙醇处理对碱性磷酸酶的活性没有显著影响。
这些结果表明，AFSCs 在早期分化过程中短暂暴露于乙醇可增强细胞的成骨分化。
