Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 27, 2026
07:23
Culture of Murine Embryonic Metatarsals: A Physiological Model of Endochondral Ossification
Published on: December 3, 2016
12.5K
MEMO1 drives cranial endochondral ossification and palatogenesis
Eric Van Otterloo1, Weiguo Feng1, Kenneth L Jones2
1Department of Craniofacial Biology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
Developmental Biology
|January 10, 2016
Summary
A mutation in the Memo1 gene causes defects in cranial base development and cleft palate in mice. This study reveals Memo1
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Genetics
- Craniofacial research
Background:
- The cranial base is crucial for integrating the face, brain, and vertebral column.
- Cranial base shape is linked to primate evolution and human facial abnormalities.
- Defects in cranial base development can lead to significant craniofacial dysmorphies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of the Memo1 gene in cranial base and palate development.
- To identify the function of Memo1 in craniofacial morphogenesis.
- To understand the genetic basis of craniofacial abnormalities.
Main Methods:
- Generated and analyzed a novel recessive mutant mouse strain with cranial base and palate defects.
- Performed gene mapping and non-complementation studies to identify the causative mutation in Memo1.
- Conducted expression analysis of Memo1 in developing cranial base and palatal shelves.
- Utilized neural crest cell-specific deletion of Memo1 to assess cell-autonomous roles.
- Examined gene expression related to bone formation, cartilage development, vascularization, and mineralization.
Main Results:
- A mutation in Memo1 caused defective cranial base formation and cleft secondary palate in mice.
- Memo1 is robustly expressed in the developing cranial base but modestly in palatal shelves.
- Mutant cranial bases showed reduced expression of bone formation genes and increased cartilage markers.
- Mutant cranial bases exhibited an expanded hypertrophic chondrocyte zone with impaired vascularization and mineralization.
- Neural crest cell-specific deletion of Memo1 impaired anterior cranial base ossification, indicating a cell-autonomous role.
- Palate formation was largely normal in conditional mutants, suggesting a non-autonomous role for Memo1 in palatal closure.
Conclusions:
- Memo1 plays a critical, cell-autonomous role in endochondral ossification of the cranial base.
- Memo1 also has a non-autonomous role in secondary palate closure.
- Defects in cranial base development due to Memo1 mutation have widespread effects on craniofacial shape.
- This study identifies a novel function for Memo1 in craniofacial development and links it to human craniofacial dysmorphies.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Bone Formation by Endochondral Ossification
13.5K
Bone formation, or ossification, begins around the sixth to seventh week of embryonic development. Most bones develop from a cartilaginous template through the process of endochondral ossification. Cartilage formation begins when clusters of mesenchymal cells differentiate into chondrocytes. These chondrocytes proliferate rapidly and secrete an extracellular matrix that becomes encased in a membrane called the perichondrium. The resulting cartilage model provides a template that resembles the...
13.5K
01:29Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification
15.2K
Intramembranous ossification is one of the two processes involved in the development of bones within an embryo. The flat bones of the face, most of the cranial bones, and the clavicles are formed via this process. During intramembranous ossification, the bones develop directly from sheets of undifferentiated mesenchymal connective tissue.
The process begins when mesenchymal cells in the embryonic skeleton gather together and differentiate into osteogenic cells, which then develop into ...
The process begins when mesenchymal cells in the embryonic skeleton gather together and differentiate into osteogenic cells, which then develop into ...
15.2K
01:07Development of the Limb Synovial Joints
2.7K
Joints form during embryonic development in conjunction with the formation and growth of the associated bones. The embryonic tissue that gives rise to all bones, cartilage, and connective tissues of the body is called mesenchyme.
The mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into chondrocytes that form the hyaline cartilage, and later the cartilaginous model of the bone. This model further transforms into a bone. This process is known as endochondral ossification.
During development, the limbs...
The mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into chondrocytes that form the hyaline cartilage, and later the cartilaginous model of the bone. This model further transforms into a bone. This process is known as endochondral ossification.
During development, the limbs...
2.7K
01:27Growth of Cartilage and Bone Tissue
4.7K
Chondrocytes form a temporary cartilaginous model by dividing and secreting a thick gel-like extracellular matrix. Once the chondrocytes undergo programmed cell death, osteoblasts enter the site of the cartilaginous model. The process of replacing the temporary cartilaginous model with bone in an ordered manner is called endochondral ossification. In endochondral ossification, not all of the cartilage is replaced by bone tissue. Some cartilage that performs a protective and supportive function...
4.7K
01:09Changes in the Appendicular Skeleton with Age
4.0K
The upper and lower limb initially develops as a small bulge called a limb bud, which appears on the lateral side of the early embryo. The upper limb bud appears near the end of the fourth week of development, with the lower limb bud appearing shortly after.
Initially, the limb buds consist of a core of mesenchyme covered by a layer of ectoderm. The ectoderm at the end of the limb bud thickens to form a narrow crest called the apical ectodermal ridge. This ridge stimulates the underlying...
Initially, the limb buds consist of a core of mesenchyme covered by a layer of ectoderm. The ectoderm at the end of the limb bud thickens to form a narrow crest called the apical ectodermal ridge. This ridge stimulates the underlying...
4.0K
01:22Sutures of the Skull
14.2K
The human skull is composed of several bones that come together to protect the brain and support the structures of the face. The junctions where these bones meet are called sutures.
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
14.2K