Craniofacial structure alterations of foetuses from folic acid deficient pregnant mice

Publication date: Available online 28 March 2018
Source:Annals of Anatomy - Anatomischer Anzeiger
Author(s): Estela Maldonado, Yamila López, Manuel Herrera, Elena Martínez-Sanz, Concepción Martínez-Álvarez, Juliana Pérez-Miguelsanz
Introductioncraniofacial development in mammals is a complex process that involves a coordinated series of molecular and morphogenetic events. Folic acid (FA) deficiency has historically been associated with congenital spinal cord malformations, but the effect that a maternal diet deficient in FA has on the development of other structures has been poorly explored. In the present study, the objective was to describe and quantify the alterations of craniofacial structures presented in mouse fetuses from dams fed a FA deficient (FAD) diet compared with controls that were given a regular maternal diet.Material and methodsE17 mouse fetuses were removed from dams that were fed with a control diet or with a FAD diet for several weeks. Fetuses with maternal FAD diets were selected for the study when they showed an altered tongue or mandible. Histological sections were used to quantify the dimensions of the head, tongue, mandibular bone and masseter muscle areas using ImageJ software. The muscles of the tongue, suprahyoid muscles, lingual septum, submandibular ducts, and lingual arteries were also analysed.Resultsthe heads of malformed fetuses were smaller than the heads of the controls, and they showed different types of malformations: microglossia with micrognathia (some of which were combined with cleft palate) and aglossia with either micrognathia or agnathia. Lingual and suprahyoid muscles were affected in different forms and degrees. We also found alterations in the lingual arteries and in the ducts of the submandibular glands. Summarized we can state that pharyngeal arches-derived structures were affected, and the main malformations observed corroborate the vulnerability of cranial neural crest cells to FA deficiency.Conclusionthe present study reveals alterations in the development of craniofacial structures in FAD foetuses. This study provides a new focus for the role of FA during embryological development.



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