Persistence of Medial Edge Epithelium in the Palate of Neonatal Mice following Brief In-Utero Hyperthermia

• M.T Shokunbi

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the process of palatal fusion in neonatal mice exposed in utero, during palatal development, to brief hyperthermia. Two groups (experimental and control) of pregnant albino mice studied. In the experimental group in which there were four subsets, the animals were exposed to hyperthermia for either 10 or 15 minutes on each of embryonic days 10 and 11. Morphological indices were measured and were compared between the neonates in the two groups. Tissue sections from the neonatal palate stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) were examined for palatal fusion and persistence of the medial edge epithelium. There were no obvious clefts. Hyperthermia-exposed neonates were smaller in birth weight, litter size, head length and palatal width but larger in head width compared to the controls (p value < 0.05). Light microscopy revealed persistence of the medial edge epithelium of the palate in neonates exposed to hyperthermia on day 11 of gestation. Brief in-utero hyperthermia alters the craniofacial dimensions of neonatal mice and delays palatal fusion. The precise mechanisms for these changes are presently unknown.

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