ROLE OF EARLY MIGRATORY NEURAL CREST CELLS IN DEVELOPMENTAL ANOMALIESINDUCED BY ETHANOL

The purpose of this work was to study the dispersion of early migrator y neural crest cell (NCC) of chick embryos treated with ethanol concen tration known to induce the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), After a dire ct treatment with ethanol (250 mg/dl), there was a higher number of ab normal embryos than in the control group, showing neural and cardiac a nomalies. After NC-1 immunostaining, ethanol-treated embryos showed sm aller number of NCC at all neuraxis levels and presumptive NCC were fr equently seen flowing towards the lumen of the neural tube, Present da ta support the view that ethanol impairment of migratory behaviour of NCC may explain certain anomalies of FAS such as those found at the ce phalic end of the body, which is known to be largely derived from NCC.