IJMS, Vol. 24, Pages 3552: MicroRNAs and Gene Regulatory Networks Related to Cleft Lip and Palate

IJMS, Vol. 24, Pages 3552: MicroRNAs and Gene Regulatory Networks Related to Cleft Lip and Palate

International Journal of Molecular Sciences doi: 10.3390/ijms24043552

Authors: Chihiro Iwaya Akiko Suzuki Junichi Iwata

Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common congenital birth defects and has a complex etiology. Either genetic or environmental factors, or both, are involved at various degrees, and the type and severity of clefts vary. One of the longstanding questions is how environmental factors lead to craniofacial developmental anomalies. Recent studies highlight non-coding RNAs as potential epigenetic regulators in cleft lip and palate. In this review, we will discuss microRNAs, a type of small non-coding RNAs that can simultaneously regulate expression of many downstream target genes, as a causative mechanism of cleft lip and palate in humans and mice.