TABLE I.
Dietary Effects on the Frequency of Spina Bifida, “Curly Tail” and Omphalocele in Chrna7:Cre Ablated Mouse Embryos
| Diet | Number embryos (litters)a | Avg. litter | Spina bifida n(%) | “Curly Tail” n(%) | Omphalocele n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard diet | 35 (8) | 4.4 | 28/35 (80) | 29/35 (83) | 31/35 (89) |
| Standard diet + oral nicotine | 14 (3) | 4.7 | 13/14 (93) | 13/14 (93) | 12/14 (86) |
| Standard diet + folic acid | 17 (5) | 3.4 | 9/17 (53) | 12/17 (71) | 14/17 (82) |
| Standard diet + choline (2%) | 26 (6) | 4.3 | 10/26 (38)* | 11/26 (42)* | 21/26 (81) |
a
Embryos (E16.5) were harvested, fixed, and scored for anatomical defects. Severely retarded embryos were not included in this sampling because of uncertainties regarding scoring of their phenotype.
*
P < 0.01 relative to Standard Choline, two-tailed Fisher's exact test.