Pantothenic acid decreases valproic acid-induced neural tube defects in mice (I)

The effect of the administration of pantothenic acid (PTA) on valproic acid (VPA)-induced teratogenesis was examined in ICR mice. VPA (300, 400, and 500 mg/kg, s.c.) or PTA (3 x 10, 3 x 100, and 3 x 300 mg/kg, i.p.) was injected on day 8.5 of gestation (plug day = day 0.5). Exencephaly was induced dose dependently by single injections of VPA. Three administrations of PTA alone at any dose levels showed neither embryocidal nor teratogenic effects. In combined treatment experiments, PTA (3 x 300 mg/kg) was injected 1 hr before, immediately before, and 1 hr after VPA administration. PTA significantly reduced VPA-induced exencephaly, while none of the other external malformations such as open eyelid or skeletal malformations such as fused, absent, or bifurcated ribs and fused thoracic vertebrae and fused sternebrae were reduced. The results suggest that PTA reduces the incidence of neural tube defect induced by VPA in mice.