Repairability of skeletal alterations induced by sodium valproate in rats

Abstract
The present study aimed at examining postnatal repairability of sodium valproate (VPA)‐induced skeletal alterations in rats. VPA (400 mg/kg) or the vehicle (distilled water) was orally administrated to pregnant Sprague‐Dawley rats from gestation day (GD) 9 to 11. Fetuses and pups were obtained on GD 21 and postnatal day (PND) 11, respectively, and their skeletons were stained with Alizarin red S and Alcian blue and examined. VPA‐induced costal and vertebral alterations in the fetuses included discontinued rib cartilage, fused rib, full or short supernumerary rib, bipart ossification of thoracic centrum, supernumerary lumbar vertebrae, and lumbarization. In pups, however, discontinued rib cartilage was not observed, and the incidence of a short supernumerary rib was significantly lower than that in the fetuses, suggesting that these alterations are postnatally repairable.

Source: Congenital Anomalies - November 1, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Yuka Kirihata, Yoshiki Ban, Chiaki Nakamori, Hironori Takagi, Tomonori Hashimoto, Shunsuke Tsutsumi Tags: Short Communication Source Type: research