Wilsons Principles of Teratology

1 Role of Gene-Gene and Gene-Environment Interactions 

This principle is based on numerous observations that species, strains, and even lit-termates (or siblings) exhibit differential susceptibility to the same developmental toxicant. These differences are attributed to variations in biochemical and morphological attributes that are genetically determined. Disparities in which a toxicant is absorbed, metabolized, or eliminated by both the mother and conceptus, as well as its ability to interact with certain cell types or components, are thought to underlie the variations in susceptibility. 

Perhaps the best-known example of an interspecies difference in the susceptibility to a developmental toxicant is that of thalidomide. Human, nonhuman primate, and 

Susceptibility to teratogenesis depends on the genotype of the conceptus and the manner to which this interacts with environmental factors. 

Susceptibility to teratogenic agents varies with the developmental stage at the time of exposure. 

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