Ift88 limits bone formation in maxillary process through suppressing apoptosis

Abstract Objective The development of the maxillary bone is under strict molecular control because of its complicated structure. Primary cilia play a critical role in craniofacial development, since defects in primary cilia are known to cause congenital craniofacial dysmorphologies as a wide spectrum of human diseases: the ciliopathies. The primary cilia also are known to regulate bone formation. However, the role of the primary cilia in maxillary bone development is not fully understood. Design To address this question, we generated mice with a mesenchymal conditional deletion of Ift88 using the Wnt1Cre mice ( Ift88 fl/fl ;Wnt1Cre ). The gene Ift88 encodes a protein that is required for the function and formation of primary cilia. Results It has been shown that Ift88 fl/fl ;Wnt1Cre mice exhibit cleft palate. Here, we additionally observed excess bone formation in the Ift88 mutant maxillary process. We also found ectopic apoptosis in the Ift88 mutant maxillary process at an early stage of development. To investigate whether the ectopic apoptosis is related to the Ift88 mouse maxillary phenotypes, we generated Ift88 fl/fl ;Wnt1Cre; p53 −/− mutants to reduce apoptosis. The Ift88 fl/fl ;Wnt1Cre; p53 −/− mice showed no excess bone formation, suggesting that the cells evading apoptosis by the presence of Ift88 in wild-type mice limit bone formation in maxillary development. On the other hand, the palatal cleft was retained in the Ift88 fl/fl ;Wnt1Cre; p53 −/− mice, indicating that the excess bone formation or abnormal apoptosis was independent of the cleft palate phenotype in Ift88 mutant mice. Conclusions Ift88 limits bone formation in the maxillary process by suppressing apoptosis.