Description
The overall goal of this project is to investigate the role of TGF-beta signaling in epithelial cells as it pertains to the orientation of muscle fibers in the soft palate during embryogenesis. Here, we first conducted gene expression profiling of the anterior and posterior portions of the palate from wild-type mice. In addition, we also conducted gene expression profiling of the posterior palate in mutant mice with an epithelium-specific conditional inactivation of the Tgfbr2 gene. The latter mice provide a model of submucosal cleft palate, which is a congenital birth defect commonly observed in many syndromic conditions.