The pathogenesis of the Treacher Collins syndrome (mandibulofacial dysostosis)

Numerous synonyms have been used to describe syndromes affecting structures derived from the first and second branchial arches. These conditions are most conveniently grouped into the asymmetrical anomalies of hemifacial microsomia and the symmetrical syndrome of mandibulofacial dysostosis. By examination of animal models of these conditions it can be demonstrated that the pathogenesis is distinct but different for each group. The characteristic facies of mandibulofacial dysostosis suggests a mechanism of malformation which operates early in embryogenesis, acting uniformly on parts which are derived from neural crest cells. In the serial examination of a phenocopy of mandibulofacial dysostosis, induced in the rat by the teratogen vitamin A, focal death of pre-otic neural crest cells is observed to occur, creating both a spatial rearrangement of the developing ears and a paucity of ectomesenchyme in the first and second branchial arches. The result of these deviations from normal morphogenesis is the development of a facial skeleton which is symmetrical but distinctly different in form from that in the normal animal. Microscopic study of the induced ear and jaw defects revealed that the animal model was closely comparable in all respects to human mandibulofacial dysostosis. The specific nature of the interaction between teratogen and migrating neural crest cells is not yet clear; nor is it known whether these cells are attacked before or after their specific destination is determined. The greater part of the damage is inflicted in a general fashion and leads to symmetrical abnormal development. Minor examples of dyssymmetry do occur, however, in the animal model and man, but these are compatible with the hypothesis of a pathogenetic mechanism which is initiated centrally and symmetrically but modified locally at a later stage. A description of the pathogenesis of these two conditions, scientific predictions can be made with respect to the timing and technique of reconstruction of the orofacial defects, and the effects of surgery on growth and development.