In Utero Exposure to Valproic Acid Induces Neocortical Dysgenesis via Dysregulation of Neural Progenitor Cell Proliferation/Differentiation.

This study provides new insight into the mechanisms of how an altered in utero environment, such as drug exposure, affects the generation of neurons prenatally. The antiepileptic drug valproic acid (VPA) is a good target molecule as in utero exposure to VPA has been repeatedly reported to increase the risk of nervous system malformations and to impair higher brain functions in children. We show that VPA decreases the probability of differentiation of the neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in mice, resulting in an abnormally increased number of projection neurons in the superficial layers of the neocortex. Further, we suggest that histone deacetylase inhibition by VPA may be involved in the dysregulation of proliferation/differentiation characteristics of NPCs.