Abstract
The effect of the anticonvulsant sodium valproate on in vitro neurulation of the chick embryo, explanted after a 25-h in ovo incubation period, is described. Sodium valproate, at concentrations of 0.5–1.5 mM did not appear to have any profound effect on embryo growth when assessed by light microscopy. However scanning electron microscopy revealed a dose-dependent increase in the incidence of open anterior and posterior neuropores after 20 h of in vitro development (Stage 11). Concentrations of sodium valproate which were greater than 1.5 mM markedly increased the number of gross malformations, which were manifested as a complete disruption of the neural tube along its entire length. Failure of neuropore closure could not be attributed to a drug-induced neurodevelopmental delay as these defects were still apparent following 27 h of in vitro culture, a time coincident with the onset of embryo torsion.
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