Studies on Hypoxia: II. Autoradiographic Quantitation of Proline-³H Incorporation by Connective Tissue Cells of the Neonatal Hamster

¹ Departments of Oral Biology and Pedodontics, School of Dentistry, and Department of Anatomy, Medical School, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Quantitative evaluation of autoradiographic grains from anoxia-treated and control neonatal hamster indicated that anoxia impairs collagen synthesis and significantly suppresses the incorporation of proline-³H in the odontoblast, fibroblast, and osteoblast by 24 hours after the insult. However, the rapid and apparently total recovery of the dental and paradental connective tissue cells suggests that anomalies of dentition, heretofore attributed to brief spells of anoxia at birth, may not be due to such a hypoxic insult during the perinatal period.