Transcription factor Foxc1 is involved in anterior part of cranial base formation

In this study, we found that the spontaneous loss of Foxc1 function mouse (congenital hydrocephalous), Foxc1ch/ch, showed the anterior cranial base defects including unossified presphenoid and lack of middle part of the basisphenoid bone. Consistently, hypoplastic presphenoid primordial cartilage (basal portion of the trabecular cartilage) and lack of the middle part of basisphenoid primordial cartilage (the hypophyseal cartilage) were observed at earlier developmental stage. Foxc1 was expressed robustly and ubiquitously in undifferentiated mesenchyme of cranial base forming area in E11.0 wild type fetuses. Once chondrogenesis commenced, the expression was down‐regulated and later limited to perichondrium. Detection of transcripts of Collagen type2 A1 (Col2a1) revealed that both basal portion of the trabecular cartilage and anterior part of the hypophyseal cartilage developing anterior to persistent epithelial stalk of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland was suppressed in the Foxc1ch/ch. Proliferation activity of chondrocyte precursor cells was higher in the Foxc1ch/ch. Loss of Foxc1 function only in the neural crest cell‐lineage (Wnt1‐cre;Foxc1 ch/flox) showed ossification of the posterior part of the hypophyseal cartilage derived from mesoderm. These findings suggest that Foxc1 is an important regulator to progress chondrogenesis and initiation of ossification for the presphenoid and basisphenoid bones.

Source: Congenital Anomalies - January 1, 2018 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Nandar Mya, Toshiko Furutera, Shigeru Okuhara, Tsutomu Kume, Masaki Takechi, Sachiko Iseki Tags: Original Article Source Type: research