How genes and environment interact to raise risk of congenital heart defects

(Nationwide Children's Hospital) Infants of mothers with diabetes have a three- to five-fold increased risk of congenital heart defects. Such developmental defects are likely caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. However, the molecular mechanisms by which maternal diabetes disrupts normal heart development in genetically susceptible individuals remain unclear. In a new study, researchers describe a gene-environment interaction resulting in congenital heart defects in both...