Genetics and Molecular Mechanisms of Craniofacial Diseases: A Perspective of Intracellular Trafficking and Signaling

A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2021) | Viewed by 6446

Special Issue Editor

Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
Interests: cellular stress; craniofacial disease; signaling; trafficking

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Questions of fundamental importance pertaining to the process of craniofacial morphogenesis include what the molecular players of the craniofacial development process are, how these molecules contribute to craniofacial development, and how an alteration in these molecules disrupts the process. Studies of craniofacial diseases have provided clues to the answers of these questions. For example, one major type of calvarial malformation is failure of the fontanels and/or sutures to close. Another type of abnormality in the cranium is premature closing of one or more cranial sutures, or craniosynostosis. Many genes encoding cell surface receptors/ligands, signaling components, and transcription factors have been identified whose pathological mutations cause craniofacial malformations. In addition, intracellular trafficking systems have turned out to be a critical player in craniofacial morphogenesis over the past two decades. This makes sense because cell surface receptors such as FGFRs are targeted to and maintained in their destination via complex trafficking machineries, and a defect in the trafficking of the receptors will alter the signaling of the receptors. Precise understanding of genetics, signaling pathways, and intracellular trafficking of such receptors and their ligands will provide further insight into pathology of craniofacial diseases.

For this Special Issue, I invite the submission of both reviews and original research articles investigating craniofacial diseases caused by a disruption in signaling or trafficking of receptors and their ligands.

Dr. Jinoh Kim
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Bone
  • Craniofacial
  • Development
  • Disease
  • Gene
  • Ligand
  • Receptor
  • Signaling
  • Secretion
  • Suture
  • Trafficking
  • Transcription factor

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

21 pages, 1939 KiB  
Review
Ciliary Signalling and Mechanotransduction in the Pathophysiology of Craniosynostosis
by Federica Tiberio, Ornella Parolini and Wanda Lattanzi
Genes 2021, 12(7), 1073; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12071073 - 14 Jul 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3388
Abstract
Craniosynostosis (CS) is the second most prevalent inborn craniofacial malformation; it results from the premature fusion of cranial sutures and leads to dimorphisms of variable severity. CS is clinically heterogeneous, as it can be either a sporadic isolated defect, more frequently, or part [...] Read more.
Craniosynostosis (CS) is the second most prevalent inborn craniofacial malformation; it results from the premature fusion of cranial sutures and leads to dimorphisms of variable severity. CS is clinically heterogeneous, as it can be either a sporadic isolated defect, more frequently, or part of a syndromic phenotype with mendelian inheritance. The genetic basis of CS is also extremely heterogeneous, with nearly a hundred genes associated so far, mostly mutated in syndromic forms. Several genes can be categorised within partially overlapping pathways, including those causing defects of the primary cilium. The primary cilium is a cellular antenna serving as a signalling hub implicated in mechanotransduction, housing key molecular signals expressed on the ciliary membrane and in the cilioplasm. This mechanical property mediated by the primary cilium may also represent a cue to understand the pathophysiology of non-syndromic CS. In this review, we aimed to highlight the implication of the primary cilium components and active signalling in CS pathophysiology, dissecting their biological functions in craniofacial development and in suture biomechanics. Through an in-depth revision of the literature and computational annotation of disease-associated genes we categorised 18 ciliary genes involved in CS aetiology. Interestingly, a prevalent implication of midline sutures is observed in CS ciliopathies, possibly explained by the specific neural crest origin of the frontal bone. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 887 KiB  
Review
Craniofacial Diseases Caused by Defects in Intracellular Trafficking
by Chung-Ling Lu and Jinoh Kim
Genes 2021, 12(5), 726; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12050726 - 13 May 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2625
Abstract
Cells use membrane-bound carriers to transport cargo molecules like membrane proteins and soluble proteins, to their destinations. Many signaling receptors and ligands are synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum and are transported to their destinations through intracellular trafficking pathways. Some of the signaling molecules [...] Read more.
Cells use membrane-bound carriers to transport cargo molecules like membrane proteins and soluble proteins, to their destinations. Many signaling receptors and ligands are synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum and are transported to their destinations through intracellular trafficking pathways. Some of the signaling molecules play a critical role in craniofacial morphogenesis. Not surprisingly, variants in the genes encoding intracellular trafficking machinery can cause craniofacial diseases. Despite the fundamental importance of the trafficking pathways in craniofacial morphogenesis, relatively less emphasis is placed on this topic, thus far. Here, we describe craniofacial diseases caused by lesions in the intracellular trafficking machinery and possible treatment strategies for such diseases. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop