CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR DIFFERENCES IN MIC E STRAINS WITH DIFFERENT SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CLEFT-PALATE

The aim of this study was to identify possible candidate genes for the susceptibility to cleft palate. we studied hyaluronic and glycoprotei n levels with morphometric and histochemical techniques, in palatine p rocesses of 13 and 14 days old mouse embryos of strains A/Sn and C/57 BL, that are respectively susceptible and resistant to glucocorticoid and non steroid anti-inflammatory drug induced cleft palate. At 13 day s, in palatine processes of the resistant strain and when these are st ill vertical there was a significantly higher amount of extracellular matrix, constituted principally by hyaluronic acid. These differences disappeared at 14 days, when the processes became horizontal. The basa l membrane of the medial palatine epithelium of the susceptible strain showed interruptions due to a lower amount of glycoproteins. It is co ncluded that the observed differences in the amount and quality of the se molecules, are a consequence of genetic differences that could dete rmine the susceptibility to cleft palate.