Roles of bone morphogenetic protein signaling and its antagonism in holoprosencephaly.

ABSTRACT: Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is the most common malformation of the forebrain, resulting from a failure to completely septate the left and right hemispheres at the rostral end of the neural tube. Because of the tissue interactions that drive head development, these forebrain defects are typically accompanied by midline deficiencies of craniofacial structures. Early events in setting up tissue precursors of the head, as well as later interactions between these tissues, are critical for normal head formation. Defects in either process can result in HPE. Signaling by bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), a family of secreted cytokines, generally plays negative roles in early stages of head formation, and thus must be attenuated in multiple contexts to ensure proper forebrain and craniofacial develop

SUBMITTER: Klingensmith J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3016013 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature