title: Regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in palatal fusion.
abstract: During palatal fusion, the midline epithelial seam between the palatal shelves degrades to achieve mesenchymal confluence. Morphological and molecular evidence support the theory that the epithelial-mesenchymal transition is one mechanism that regulates palatal fusion. It appears that transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta signaling plays a role in palatal EMT. TGFbeta3 is the main inducer in palatal fusion and activates both Smad-dependent and -independent signaling pathways, including the key EMT transcription factors, Lef1, Twist, and Snail1, in the MEE prior to the palatal EMT program. The roles and interactions among these transcription factors will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Baylor College of Dentistry, 3302 Gaston Avenue, Dallas, TX 75246, USA.
authors.forename: Wenli
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Louis-Bruno
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Ruest
authors.forename: Kathy K H
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Svoboda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004848:Epithelium / Q000196:embryology; D006801:Humans; D051821:Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding Factor 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000196:embryology*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010159:Palate / Q000196:embryology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D051785:Smad Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D000071250:Snail Family Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D053782:Transforming Growth Factor beta3 / Q000378:metabolism; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C497573:LEF1 protein, human; D051821:Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding Factor 1; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C000604407:SNAI1 protein, human; D051785:Smad Proteins; D000071250:Snail Family Transcription Factors; C103173:TWIST1 protein, human; D014157:Transcription Factors; D053782:Transforming Growth Factor beta3; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1