Explanted palates of day 12 and day 13 mouse fetuses were cultured in a chemically defined serumless medium for 48–72 h by a suspension culture technique. The palate of day 12 fetuses closed successfully within 72 h and that of day 13 fetuses within 48 h. Both macroscopically and histologically the in vitro fusion of palatal shelves simulated the palatogenetic process in vivo. This novel technique for culturing the fetal mouse palate may be of potential use for the study of palatogenesis and in developmental toxicology.

Day-13 fetal mouse palates (plug day=day 0) were labeled with carbon particles at various sites of palatal shelves and cultivated in a chemically defined medium for up to 48 h. During the culture period, the bilateral palatal shelves came in contact and fused with each other, which simulated in vivo palatogenesis. The carbon study revealed that at the midpalatal region, the medial edge of the palatal shelf elevated to the horizontal plane, elongated toward the midline, and made contact with the medial edge of the opposing shelf. On the other hand, near the anterior and posterior ends of the shelf, some new tissue was formed at the medial edge of the shelf by remodeling and this newly formed tissue took part in palatal fusion. The results of the present study indicate that during mouse palatogenesis, the anterior and posterior regions of the palatal shelf behave differently from the midpalatal region. It seems that in the fetal mouse palate, the midpalate closes mainly by means of rotation and medial elongation of the shelf, whereas the anterior and posterior parts of the palate close mainly by tissue remodeling of the medial edge and partly by medial elongation of the shelf.

The maxillary regions of day-12.5 and day-13.5 ICR mouse fetuses were cultivated in a chemically-defined serumless medium by a suspension culture technique to examine the toxic effects of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and hydroxyurea (HU) on cultured palates and to compare the sensitivity of fetal mouse palates at different stages of development. The palates of day-12.5 and day-13.5 fetal mice were explanted and exposed in vitro for 72 hr to 0.1-50 p g 5-FWml or to 5-76 p g HU/ml. 5-FU inhibited the growth and fusion of day-12.5 palatal shelves in vitro dependently on its concentrations. Day-13.5 palates were significantly less sensitive to 5-FU than day-12.5 palates, and the minimal toxic concentrations (MTCs) of 5-Fu were 0.1 and 10 pg/ml for day-12.5 and day-13.5 fetal palates, respectively. HU inhibited the in vitro growth and fusion of day-12.5 fetal palatal shelves in a concentration dependent manner, but only slightly suppressed the growth of day-13.5 fetal palates. The MTCs of HU were 19 and 76 pglml for day-12.5 and day-1 3.5 fetal palates, respectively. Therefore, day-12.5 fetal mouse palates (at stage -1 or earlier stages of palatogenesis) seemed significantly more susceptible to these teratogenic chemicals than day-13.5 fetal palates (at stages 2-3 of palatogenesis). The palates of day-12.5 ICR fetal mice may be more suitable than day-13.5 palates for in vitro teratogen screening and for the study of mechanisms of normal and abnormal palatogenesis.

Using in vitro organ culture of the fetal mouse palate in a chemically defined serumless medium, the toxicity of 24 chemical compounds was investigated. Explanted palates of day-12.5 mouse fetuses were exposed for 72 h in vitro to various concentrations of each chemical, and the fusion rate and growth parameters were compared between the experimental group and respective controls. The average rate of palate fusion was 84% in vehicle controls. For compounds that are teratogenic in experimental animals in vivo, the fusion rates of palatal shelves decreased as the concentration of the test chemicals increased, showing a dose-dependent relationship. Palate fusion was inhibited by 11 of the 15 in vivo teratogens, and the predictability of in vivo developmental toxicity in this culture system was 73%. Cyclophosphamide itself did not inhibit the growth and fusion of explanted palates, but supplementation of hepatic S-9 fraction and cofactors for a monooxygenase system converted it to a toxic substance, as was shown in other in vitro systems. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) value calculated based on the fusion rate was also found to be a useful parameter for evaluating the developmental toxicity of drugs. The teratogenic risk in the human fetus could be assessed by comparing the minimal toxic concentrations of the test compound on cultured palates with the maximal plasma level in pregnant women under therapeutic conditions and with the plasma concentrations when its minimal teratogenic dose is given to pregnant mice. This organ culture system of the fetal palate should be useful for screening the developmental toxicity of drugs and other environmental agents, and its value should increase when it is used in combination with other battery test systems.