Various cobalt-containing agents (cyanocobalamin, sodium cobaltinitrite, and cobaltous chloride), which formerly had been shown to prevent the onset of cleft palate in CF-1 mice injected with cortisone, were studied to determine whether they would afford similar protection against phenytoin. Phenytoin, however, failed to cause cleft palate in the mouse fetus when given to pregnant animals alone; and cortisone, on the contrary, induced this anomaly in the presence of the so-called cobalt antagonists as well as when administered in their absence. It is suggested from these results that high dietary intake of cobalt prevents cleft palate caused by phenytoin challenge and also negates the protective effects associated with the acute administration of cobalt compounds. Therefore, it is concluded that these well-known teratogens inhibit palatal closure in mice by different mechanisms.
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