Usefulness of in vitro embryogenesis to assess teratogenic effect of nucleic acid analogues

Abstract

Nucleic acid analogs are highly effective therapeutic agents for viral infections. Teratogenicity is often observed in this class, and its avoidance is important. We evaluated usefulness of Whole Embryo Culture for screening teratogenicity of nucleic acid analogues. We applied analogs which were teratogenic in rats to the WEC and confirmed abnormal embryogenesis except for purine base analogs. In conclusion, the WEC is useful for assess teratogenicity of nucleic acid analogs other than purine base analogs. Further studies are required to avoid false negatives of purine base analogs.