Role of skeletal muscle in mandible development.

Previous analysis of Myf5-/-:MyoD-/- mouse fetuses lacking skeletal muscle demonstrated the importance of muscle contraction and static loading in mouse skeletogenesis. Previous analysis of Myf5-/-:MyoD-/- mouse fetuses lacking skeletal muscle demonstrated the importance of muscle contraction and static loading in mouse skeletogenesis. Among abnormal skeletal features, micrognathia (mandibular hypoplasia) was detected: small, bent and posteriorly displaced mandible. As an example of Waddingtonian epigenetics, we suggest that muscle, in addition to acting via mechanochemical signal transduction pathways, networks and promoters, also exerts secretory stimuli on skeleton. Our goal is to identify candidate molecules at that muscle-mandible interface. By employing Systematic Subtractive Microarray Analysis approach, we compared gene expression between mandibles of amyogenic and wild type mouse fetuses.

2

Rot I, Mardesic-Brakus S, Costain WJ, Saraga-Babic M, Kablar B