Objectives: To investigate the anatomy of the mouse palate, the midpalatal suture, and the cellular characteristics in the sutures before and immediately after midpalatal suture expansion.
Materials and methods: Wild-type C57BL/6 male mice, aged between 6 weeks and 12 months, were chosen for all the experiments. The complete palate of the non-operated group and the midpalatal suture-expanded group at different ages was used for histological, micro-CT, immunohistochemistry, and sutural cell analyses.
Results: This study documents precise morphological and histological characteristics of the mouse palatal sutures. In addition to the opening of the midpalatal suture caused by expansion, both transverse and interpalatine sutures were also seen to be affected. Cellular density was decreased in different types of sutures following the application of mechanical force.
Conclusions: The detailed morphology and histology of the mouse palate and the cellular changes that occur following midpalatal suture expansion, as described here, will be helpful as a basis for further investigations of palatal suture tissue responses to mechanical force.
© 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.