title: Mouse epidermal development: effects of retinoic acid exposure in utero.
abstract: Epidermal morphogenesis was studied in vivo following prenatal exposure to retinoic acid (RA). In pregnant mice, a single oral dose of RA on day 11.5 of gestation failed to induce histological changes in fetal epidermal development except in epidermal thickness. Epidermal thickness increased from 16.5 days post-coitum (dpc) onwards, and temporal and spatial epidermal modifications in keratins K5 and K14 related to proliferative activity of keratinocytes were observed. An RA effect on cell proliferation was supported by a statistically significant increase in the number of epidermal S-phase cells, containing BrdU-incorporated DNA in RA-exposed mice compared with nonexposed animals. The prolonged in utero action of RA on epidermal proliferative activity in fetuses and newborns suggests a long-term RA effect that may play a role on the development and evolution of diseases in adult skin.
authors.affiliation: Histology and Pathological Anatomy Section, Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Madrid (UCM), Madrid, Spain. rosaanagf@vet.ucm.es
authors.forename: Rosa A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: García-Fernández
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pérez-Martínez
authors.forename: Javier Espinosa
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Alex J Durán
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Navarrete
authors.forename: Maria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: García-Iglesias
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects*; D000078404:Epidermal Cells; D004817:Epidermis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D007641:Keratolytic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D009024:Morphogenesis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D007641:Keratolytic Agents; D014212:Tretinoin