Cleft Palate Induction: Quantitative Studies of ³H Corticoids in A/Jax Mouse Tissues after Maternal Injections of ³H Cortisol

KENNETH M. SPAIN ¹, WALTER KISIELESKI ¹, and NORMAN K. WOOD ¹

¹ Department of Oral Diagnosis, Loyola University School of Dentistry, Maywood, Illinois 60153, USA, and the Division of Biological and Medical Research, Argonne National Laboratories, Argonne, Illinois 60439

A/Jax mice were injected with 50 ,µCi of ₃H cortisol and 10 mg of cortisone acetate on day 12 of gestation. At various intervals after injection, the maternal liver, placenta, yolk sac, and the fetal jaws were iemoved and analyzed by thin-layer chromatography in conjunction with oxidative combustion and liquid scintillation counting to identify and measure the amount of labeled corticoid metabolites. The results support the thesis that these corticoids may induce clefts by an individual or combined direct action on the fetal jaws and palatal shelf tissue.