Spatial and temporal distribution of cellular proliferation in the cranial base of normal and midfacially retrusive mice.

The craniofacial region of the Brachyrrhine (Br) mouse is characterized by a retruded midface. The cellular mechanism causing this growth deficiency is unknown. However, the cranial base is foreshortened in adult Br mice. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the spatial and temporal patterns of cellular proliferation in the cranial base (CB) differ between normal (C3H/HeJ) and Br mutant (3H1 Br/+) embryonic mice. Twenty-four dams were injected (3)H thymidine (5 microCi/gram body weight) and 15 embryos from each group were collected at Theiler stages 23, 25, and 27 (15, 17, and 19 days of gestation). Serial sections from each head were processed with routine autoradiography. Labelling indices (LI) were determined for each specimen and cellular proliferation maps were generated for each age group. LI patterns within and between groups were compared statistically. Results showed that cellular proliferation in the CB of normal embryos displayed a time- and position-dependent pattern, characteristic of transient growth sites (TGS). Generally, as age increases, cellular proliferative activities decrease gradually (from an average LI of 11.4 +/- 5.7% at stage 23 to 4.4 +/- 2.2% at stage 27), and the number of the TGS decreases in the presumptive nasal septal region and increases in presumptive sphenoethmoidal area with age, indicating the existence of cellular subpopulations in the CB. Cellular proliferation in the CB of the Br mutant displays a different growth pattern compared to the normal condition. Deficiencies in cellular proliferation exist mainly in the presumptive sphenoethmoidal area of the CB. The results indicate that the TGS play an important role in the normal morphogenesis of the CB, and abnormalities in their timing and/or position may be responsible for the dysmorphology of the midface in the Br mutant. Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.