Nature Genetics
24, 330 - 331 (2000)
doi:10.1038/74132
A hole in the headMark W J Ferguson
School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Stopford Building, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.
mark.ferguson@man.ac.uk
Two studies in this issue1,
2 indicate that loss-of-function
mutations in the MSX2 homeobox gene result in failure of cranial fontanelle
closure in both mouse and human, and that MSX2 dosage is critical to
normal osteogenesis. Another study, also in this issue, indicates that a loss-of-function
mutation in MSX1 results in human cleft palate3. Msx
genes interact with other genes (for example, the gene encoding TGF 3)
to specify normal or cleft palate development, raising the possibilities of
both prenatal diagnosis and therapeutic treatment of human cleft palate. The
dose sensitivity and interaction of craniofacial genes may be the basis for
generating the important subtle variations in human faces.
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