Normal Mouse Embryonic Heart Development Disrupted By Loss Of The Protein Target Of Lithium

Individuals with bipolar disorder are usually treated with ‘mood stabilizing’ drugs, one of which is lithium - an inhibitor of GSK-3 proteins. As new drugs that are more powerful inhibitors of GSK-3 are under development despite controversial studies suggesting a link between lithium therapy and congenital heart defects, Thomas Force and colleagues, at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, set out to determine whether GSK-3 proteins are important for heart development in mice.

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Filed under: Cardiovascular on October 3rd, 2008