Network Of Clinical Research Studies On Craniosynostosis, Skull Malformations With Premature Fusion Of Skull Bones

Craniosynostosis Network

Craniosynostosis (CS) is a common malformation occurring in ~4 per 10,000 live births in which the sutures between skull bones close too early, causing long-term problems with brain and skull growth. Infants with CS typically require extensive surgical treatment and may experience many perioperative complications, including hemorrhage and re-synostosis. Even with successful surgery, children can experience developmental and learning disabilities or vision problems. Most often, CS appears as isolated nonsyndromic CS (NSC). Of the several subtypes of CS, unilateral or bilateral fusion of the coronal suture is the second most common form of CS accounting for 20-30% of all NSC cases. The etiology of coronal NSC (cNSC) is not well understood, although the published literature suggests that it is a multifactorial condition. About 5-14% of coronal craniosynostosis patients have a positive family history, with a specific genetic etiology identified in >25% of cNSC cases, suggesting a strong genetic component in the pathogenesis of this birth defect. The causes for cNSC and its phenotypic heterogeneity remain largely unknown. An international team of investigators will generate large genomic and gene expression datasets on samples from patients with cNSC. State-of-the-art imaging, genetic, and developmental and systems biology approaches will be used to quantitatively model novel pathways and networks involved in the development of cNSC. Novel variant-, gene- and network-level analyses will be performed on the genomic data obtained from cNSC cases, their relatives, and controls to identify novel variants and genetic regions associated with cNCS. Quantitative, analytical, and functional validations of these predictions will provide insights into the etiology and possible therapeutic targets for CS and potentially other bone-related disorders.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Craniosynostosis
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Craniosynostosis Network Environmental Survey; Other: 2D/3D Photography; Procedure: Buccal Swab Cell Sampling; Procedure: Blood sampling; Procedure: Skin Biopsy; Procedure: Tissues from a Clinically Indicated Procedure; Procedure: Pre-operative CT Scan Image Files.

Detailed Description

The long-term goal of the Program Project, Craniosynostosis Network, is to elucidate normal and abnormal craniofacial biology to ultimately improve the treatment of craniofacial disorders. Craniosynostosis and other skull abnormalities are among the most common human malformations usually requiring surgical and medical intervention. The Network will integrate three projects and two cores. Scientists with diverse expertise including anthropology, morphometry, imaging, birth defects, developmental biology, genetics, genomics, epidemiology, statistics, and systems biology will explore the determinants of the fate of the relevant mesenchymal progenitor cells, abnormalities in osteogenesis that contribute to global skull growth abnormality and premature closure of cranial sutures, especially the coronal suture. High quality genomic data will be obtained from patients with coronal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis (cNSC) and their available parents. Novel genome-wide variant-, gene- and network-level analyses will be performed on these families to identify novel variants and genetic regions associated with coronal craniosynostosis.

This study is a multi-center, open-enrollment, retrospective study, employing both family-based and case-control study designs.

Approximately 4000 cNSC patients, their family members, and controls will be recruited by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the majority will be recruited from the more than 10 collaborating institutions worldwide.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 2145

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Ethylin Wang Jabs, MD; Phone Number: 212-241-3504; Email: ethylin.jabs@mssm.edu

Study Locations

• France
  • Aquitaine
    • Talence, Aquitaine, France, 33405
      • University of Bordeaux
  • Cedex 14
    • Paris, Cedex 14, France, 75993
      • INSERM/ Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades
• Germany
  • Heidelberg, Germany, 69120
    • University Hospital Heidelberg
• Spain
  • Esplugues De Llobregat
    • Barcelona, Esplugues De Llobregat, Spain, 08950
      • Hospital Sant Joan de Deu
• United Kingdom
  • Oxfordshire
    • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, OX1 2JD
      • Oxford University
• United States
  • California
    • Davis, California, United States, 95616
      • The International Craniosynostosis Consortium at University of California at Davis
  • Connecticut
    • Hartford, Connecticut, United States, 06520
      • Yale University
  • Illinois
    • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
      • Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
  • Iowa
    • Iowa City, Iowa, United States, 52242
      • National Birth Defects Prevention Study at University of Iowa
  • Maryland
    • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21218
      • Johns Hopkins University
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
      • Boston Children's Hospital
  • New York
    • Albany, New York, United States, 12237
      • Birth Defect Registries of New York State
    • New York, New York, United States, 10029
      • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
    • New York, New York, United States, 10016
      • New York University
  • Pennsylvania
    • Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, 17033
      • Pennsylvania State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
    • University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, 16802
      • Pennsylvania State University
  • Texas
    • Austin, Texas, United States, 78723
      • Seton Family of Hospitals
    • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75390
      • University of Texas at Southwestern
    • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75230
      • Medical City Children's Hospital
  • Utah
    • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84158
      • University of Utah

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: No older than 80 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Individuals with coronal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis (cNSC) and their relatives and controls (including noncraniosynostosis patients having neurosurgery for another surgical indication) will be included in this study. Approximately 4,000 individuals will participate of either gender and all ages, ethnicities, and race. All research subjects will be consented through approved IRB protocols at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai or respective collaborating institutions which will be governed by their own institutional IRB committees. Only de-identified medical information, CT scans, and samples from collaborating institutions will be shared with Mount Sinai.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Cases with diagnosis of coronal
• Unaffected relatives of cases
• Unaffected controls including those who may have undergone clinically indicated craniofacial surgery for trauma or conditions other than craniosynostosis or bone disease. These individuals will be recruited at some of the other collaborating institutions, but not at Mount Sinai.

Individuals of any racial or ethnic group with the established or suspected clinical diagnosis of coronal, nonsyndromic craniosynostosis will be included in this study. Unaffected relatives, such as their biological parents and/or sibs, will also be included to contribute medical information and samples as negative controls for our study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Those who fit the criteria, but who choose not to participate
• Those who do not meet the criteria.
• Other than children, no vulnerable individuals will be recruited, such as intellectual impaired individuals or prisoners.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Other
• Time Perspectives: Other

Number of groups / cohorts

3

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Coronal Nonsyndromic Craniosynostosis, trios; Participants with diagnosis of coronal, nonsyndromic craniosynostosis including affected and unaffected biological parents	Other: Craniosynostosis Network Environmental Survey; Questionnaire is administered to the mothers of affected participants regarding medical history and environmental exposures during pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal period. Optional.; Other: 2D/3D Photography; Full frontal and lateral face and other parts of the body may be taken for dysmorphic assessment. There is the risk of identification and loss of confidentiality. Optional.; Procedure: Buccal Swab Cell Sampling; One or more swabs, like a Q-tip (for children), or saliva collection kit (for adults) will be used to collect buccal cells. With a swab, they will brush the inside of the mouth several times. With saliva collection kit, they will collect their saliva by spitting into a container several times using a commercially available saliva collection kit. Required.; Procedure: Blood sampling; Venipuncture so that one teaspoon to tablespoons (1-20 ml.) of blood is collected. The volume drawn will be dependent on the age and size of the child. Minimal amounts may be required for DNA, but to establish a lymphoblastoid or iPS cell line at least 3 to 10 ml will be required independent of age. In the case of an infant, if 3 to 10 ml cannot be obtained, then a lymphoblastoid or iPS cell line will not be created. Optional.; Procedure: Skin Biopsy; For those who do not undergo surgery or the skin removal is not considered part of the surgical procedure. After proper cleaning, a piece of skin the size of a pencil eraser (about 4 mm or 1/8 inch in diameter) will be removed (using a circular blade or scalpel) from the arm (inside of arm or forearm in a spot that is as unnoticeable as possible). This area will be covered with a Band-Aid. No stitches are usually required. A crust will form and eventually fall off. Optional.; Procedure: Tissues from a Clinically Indicated Procedure; In some instances when there is discarded tissues and specimens (including skin and bone at the time of reconstructive craniofacial surgery), they will be collected by making arrangements with their physicians. Some of these tissues will be used to generate cell lines. Optional.; Procedure: Pre-operative CT Scan Image Files.; Optional for those who had a previous CT scan for a prior traumatic event.
Coronal, nonsyndromic craniosynostosis; Participants with coronal, nonsyndromic craniosynostosis when biological parents are not available	Other: Craniosynostosis Network Environmental Survey; Questionnaire is administered to the mothers of affected participants regarding medical history and environmental exposures during pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal period. Optional.; Other: 2D/3D Photography; Full frontal and lateral face and other parts of the body may be taken for dysmorphic assessment. There is the risk of identification and loss of confidentiality. Optional.; Procedure: Buccal Swab Cell Sampling; One or more swabs, like a Q-tip (for children), or saliva collection kit (for adults) will be used to collect buccal cells. With a swab, they will brush the inside of the mouth several times. With saliva collection kit, they will collect their saliva by spitting into a container several times using a commercially available saliva collection kit. Required.; Procedure: Blood sampling; Venipuncture so that one teaspoon to tablespoons (1-20 ml.) of blood is collected. The volume drawn will be dependent on the age and size of the child. Minimal amounts may be required for DNA, but to establish a lymphoblastoid or iPS cell line at least 3 to 10 ml will be required independent of age. In the case of an infant, if 3 to 10 ml cannot be obtained, then a lymphoblastoid or iPS cell line will not be created. Optional.; Procedure: Skin Biopsy; For those who do not undergo surgery or the skin removal is not considered part of the surgical procedure. After proper cleaning, a piece of skin the size of a pencil eraser (about 4 mm or 1/8 inch in diameter) will be removed (using a circular blade or scalpel) from the arm (inside of arm or forearm in a spot that is as unnoticeable as possible). This area will be covered with a Band-Aid. No stitches are usually required. A crust will form and eventually fall off. Optional.; Procedure: Tissues from a Clinically Indicated Procedure; In some instances when there is discarded tissues and specimens (including skin and bone at the time of reconstructive craniofacial surgery), they will be collected by making arrangements with their physicians. Some of these tissues will be used to generate cell lines. Optional.; Procedure: Pre-operative CT Scan Image Files.; Optional for those who had a previous CT scan for a prior traumatic event.
Unaffected controls; Unaffected controls who may have undergone clinically indicated craniofacial surgery for trauma or conditions other than craniosynostosis or bone disease	Other: Craniosynostosis Network Environmental Survey; Questionnaire is administered to the mothers of affected participants regarding medical history and environmental exposures during pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal period. Optional.; Other: 2D/3D Photography; Full frontal and lateral face and other parts of the body may be taken for dysmorphic assessment. There is the risk of identification and loss of confidentiality. Optional.; Procedure: Buccal Swab Cell Sampling; One or more swabs, like a Q-tip (for children), or saliva collection kit (for adults) will be used to collect buccal cells. With a swab, they will brush the inside of the mouth several times. With saliva collection kit, they will collect their saliva by spitting into a container several times using a commercially available saliva collection kit. Required.; Procedure: Blood sampling; Venipuncture so that one teaspoon to tablespoons (1-20 ml.) of blood is collected. The volume drawn will be dependent on the age and size of the child. Minimal amounts may be required for DNA, but to establish a lymphoblastoid or iPS cell line at least 3 to 10 ml will be required independent of age. In the case of an infant, if 3 to 10 ml cannot be obtained, then a lymphoblastoid or iPS cell line will not be created. Optional.; Procedure: Skin Biopsy; For those who do not undergo surgery or the skin removal is not considered part of the surgical procedure. After proper cleaning, a piece of skin the size of a pencil eraser (about 4 mm or 1/8 inch in diameter) will be removed (using a circular blade or scalpel) from the arm (inside of arm or forearm in a spot that is as unnoticeable as possible). This area will be covered with a Band-Aid. No stitches are usually required. A crust will form and eventually fall off. Optional.; Procedure: Tissues from a Clinically Indicated Procedure; In some instances when there is discarded tissues and specimens (including skin and bone at the time of reconstructive craniofacial surgery), they will be collected by making arrangements with their physicians. Some of these tissues will be used to generate cell lines. Optional.; Procedure: Pre-operative CT Scan Image Files.; Optional for those who had a previous CT scan for a prior traumatic event.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Phenotype-genotype gene expression correlations	Phenotype-genotype-gene expression correlations among cohorts of cases of coronal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis and genotype-gene expression correlations among controls will be analyzed and compared.	up to 5 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Incidence of gene mutations	gene mutations and variants may be found that are significantly associated with coronal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis	up to 5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Collaborators: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ethylin Wang Jabs, MD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Principal Investigator: Inga Peter, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Heuze Y, Holmes G, Peter I, Richtsmeier JT, Jabs EW. Closing the Gap: Genetic and Genomic Continuum from Syndromic to Nonsyndromic Craniosynostoses. Curr Genet Med Rep. 2014 Sep 1;2(3):135-145. doi: 10.1007/s40142-014-0042-x.
• Heuze Y, Singh N, Basilico C, Jabs EW, Holmes G, Richtsmeier JT. Morphological comparison of the craniofacial phenotypes of mouse models expressing the Apert FGFR2 S252W mutation in neural crest- or mesoderm-derived tissues. Bone. 2014 Jun;63:101-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2014.03.003. Epub 2014 Mar 13.
• Heuze Y, Martinez-Abadias N, Stella JM, Arnaud E, Collet C, Garcia Fructuoso G, Alamar M, Lo LJ, Boyadjiev SA, Di Rocco F, Richtsmeier JT. Quantification of facial skeletal shape variation in fibroblast growth factor receptor-related craniosynostosis syndromes. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol. 2014 Apr;100(4):250-9. doi: 10.1002/bdra.23228. Epub 2014 Feb 27.
• Di Rocco F, Biosse Duplan M, Heuze Y, Kaci N, Komla-Ebri D, Munnich A, Mugniery E, Benoist-Lasselin C, Legeai-Mallet L. FGFR3 mutation causes abnormal membranous ossification in achondroplasia. Hum Mol Genet. 2014 Jun 1;23(11):2914-25. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddu004. Epub 2014 Jan 12.
• Justice CM, Yagnik G, Kim Y, Peter I, Jabs EW, Erazo M, Ye X, Ainehsazan E, Shi L, Cunningham ML, Kimonis V, Roscioli T, Wall SA, Wilkie AO, Stoler J, Richtsmeier JT, Heuze Y, Sanchez-Lara PA, Buckley MF, Druschel CM, Mills JL, Caggana M, Romitti PA, Kay DM, Senders C, Taub PJ, Klein OD, Boggan J, Zwienenberg-Lee M, Naydenov C, Kim J, Wilson AF, Boyadjiev SA. A genome-wide association study identifies susceptibility loci for nonsyndromic sagittal craniosynostosis near BMP2 and within BBS9. Nat Genet. 2012 Dec;44(12):1360-4. doi: 10.1038/ng.2463. Epub 2012 Nov 18.
• Heuze Y, Martinez-Abadias N, Stella JM, Senders CW, Boyadjiev SA, Lo LJ, Richtsmeier JT. Unilateral and bilateral expression of a quantitative trait: asymmetry and symmetry in coronal craniosynostosis. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2012 Mar;318(2):109-22. doi: 10.1002/jezb.21449.
• Martinez-Abadias N, Heuze Y, Wang Y, Jabs EW, Aldridge K, Richtsmeier JT. FGF/FGFR signaling coordinates skull development by modulating magnitude of morphological integration: evidence from Apert syndrome mouse models. PLoS One. 2011;6(10):e26425. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026425. Epub 2011 Oct 28.
• Heuze Y, Boyadjiev SA, Marsh JL, Kane AA, Cherkez E, Boggan JE, Richtsmeier JT. New insights into the relationship between suture closure and craniofacial dysmorphology in sagittal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis. J Anat. 2010 Aug;217(2):85-96. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2010.01258.x. Epub 2010 Jun 22.
• Wang Y, Sun M, Uhlhorn VL, Zhou X, Peter I, Martinez-Abadias N, Hill CA, Percival CJ, Richtsmeier JT, Huso DL, Jabs EW. Activation of p38 MAPK pathway in the skull abnormalities of Apert syndrome Fgfr2(+P253R) mice. BMC Dev Biol. 2010 Feb 22;10:22. doi: 10.1186/1471-213X-10-22.
• Percival CJ, Kawasaki K, Huang Y, Weiss KM, Jabs EW, Li R, Richtsmeier JT. Building Bones. Percival CJ, Richtsmeier JT, editors. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press; 2017. Chapter 2, The contribution of angiogenesis to variation in bone development and evolution; 26-51p.
• Kawasaki K, Richtsmeier JT. Building Bones. Percival CJ, Richtsmeier JT, editors. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press; 2017. Chapter 3, Association of the chondrocranium and dermatocranium in early skull development; 52-78p.
• Kawasaki K, Richtsmeier J. Building Bones. Percival CJ, Richtsmeier JT, editors. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press; 2017. Chapter Appendix, Appendix to Chapter 3 ; 303-315p.
• Singh N, Dutka T, Reeves RH, Richtsmeier JT. Chronic up-regulation of sonic hedgehog has little effect on postnatal craniofacial morphology of euploid and trisomic mice. Dev Dyn. 2016 Feb;245(2):114-22. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.24361. Epub 2015 Dec 6.
• Trainor PA, Richtsmeier JT. Facing up to the challenges of advancing Craniofacial Research. Am J Med Genet A. 2015 Jul;167(7):1451-4. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.37065. Epub 2015 Mar 28.
• Flaherty K, Singh N, Richtsmeier JT. Understanding craniosynostosis as a growth disorder. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Dev Biol. 2016 Jul;5(4):429-59. doi: 10.1002/wdev.227. Epub 2016 Mar 22.
• Ye X, Guilmatre A, Reva B, Peter I, Heuze Y, Richtsmeier JT, Fox DJ, Goedken RJ, Jabs EW, Romitti PA. Mutation Screening of Candidate Genes in Patients with Nonsyndromic Sagittal Craniosynostosis. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2016 Mar;137(3):952-961. doi: 10.1097/01.prs.0000479978.75545.ee.
• Musy M, Flaherty K, Raspopovic J, Robert-Moreno A, Richtsmeier JT, Sharpe J. A quantitative method for staging mouse embryos based on limb morphometry. Development. 2018 Apr 5;145(7):dev154856. doi: 10.1242/dev.154856.
• Heuze Y, Kawasaki K, Schwarz T, Schoenebeck JJ, Richtsmeier JT. Developmental and Evolutionary Significance of the Zygomatic Bone. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2016 Dec;299(12):1616-1630. doi: 10.1002/ar.23449.
• Motch Perrine SM, Stecko T, Neuberger T, Jabs EW, Ryan TM, Richtsmeier JT. Integration of Brain and Skull in Prenatal Mouse Models of Apert and Crouzon Syndromes. Front Hum Neurosci. 2017 Jul 25;11:369. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00369. eCollection 2017.
• Lee C, Richtsmeier JT, Kraft RH. A COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF BONE FORMATION IN THE CRANIAL VAULT USING A COUPLED REACTION-DIFFUSION-STRAIN MODEL. J Mech Med Biol. 2017 Jun;17(4):1750073. doi: 10.1142/S0219519417500737. Epub 2017 May 29.
• Lesciotto KM, Heuze Y, Jabs EW, Bernstein JM, Richtsmeier JT. Choanal Atresia and Craniosynostosis: Development and Disease. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2018 Jan;141(1):156-168. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000003928.
• Motch Perrine SM, Wu M, Stephens NB, Kriti D, van Bakel H, Jabs EW, Richtsmeier JT. Mandibular dysmorphology due to abnormal embryonic osteogenesis in FGFR2-related craniosynostosis mice. Dis Model Mech. 2019 May 30;12(5):dmm038513. doi: 10.1242/dmm.038513.
• Norwood JN, Zhang Q, Card D, Craine A, Ryan TM, Drew PJ. Anatomical basis and physiological role of cerebrospinal fluid transport through the murine cribriform plate. Elife. 2019 May 7;8:e44278. doi: 10.7554/eLife.44278.
• Lee C, Richtsmeier JT, Kraft RH. A coupled reaction-diffusion-strain model predicts cranial vault formation in development and disease. Biomech Model Mechanobiol. 2019 Aug;18(4):1197-1211. doi: 10.1007/s10237-019-01139-z. Epub 2019 Apr 20.
• Sewda A, White SR, Erazo M, Hao K, Garcia-Fructuoso G, Fernandez-Rodriguez I, Heuze Y, Richtsmeier JT, Romitti PA, Reva B, Jabs EW, Peter I. Nonsyndromic craniosynostosis: novel coding variants. Pediatr Res. 2019 Mar;85(4):463-468. doi: 10.1038/s41390-019-0274-2. Epub 2019 Jan 14.
• Lesciotto KM, Richtsmeier JT. Craniofacial skeletal response to encephalization: How do we know what we think we know? Am J Phys Anthropol. 2019 Jan;168 Suppl 67(Suppl 67):27-46. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.23766.
• Flaherty K, Richtsmeier JT. It's about Time: Ossification Center Formation in C57BL/6 Mice from E12(-)E16. J Dev Biol. 2018 Dec 15;6(4):31. doi: 10.3390/jdb6040031.
• Holmes G, O'Rourke C, Motch Perrine SM, Lu N, van Bakel H, Richtsmeier JT, Jabs EW. Midface and upper airway dysgenesis in FGFR2-related craniosynostosis involves multiple tissue-specific and cell cycle effects. Development. 2018 Oct 5;145(19):dev166488. doi: 10.1242/dev.166488.
• Martinez-Abadias N, Mateu Estivill R, Sastre Tomas J, Motch Perrine S, Yoon M, Robert-Moreno A, Swoger J, Russo L, Kawasaki K, Richtsmeier J, Sharpe J. Quantification of gene expression patterns to reveal the origins of abnormal morphogenesis. Elife. 2018 Sep 20;7:e36405. doi: 10.7554/eLife.36405.
• Holmes G, Zhang L, Rivera J, Murphy R, Assouline C, Sullivan L, Oppeneer T, Jabs EW. C-type natriuretic peptide analog treatment of craniosynostosis in a Crouzon syndrome mouse model. PLoS One. 2018 Jul 26;13(7):e0201492. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201492. eCollection 2018.
• Richtsmeier JT. A century of development. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2018 Apr;165(4):726-740. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.23379. No abstract available.
• Starbuck JM, Cole TM 3rd, Reeves RH, Richtsmeier JT. The Influence of trisomy 21 on facial form and variability. Am J Med Genet A. 2017 Nov;173(11):2861-2872. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.38464. Epub 2017 Sep 21.
• Weiss K, Buchanan A, Richtsmeier J. How are we made?: Even well-controlled experiments show the complexity of our traits. Evol Anthropol. 2015 Jul-Aug;24(4):130-6. doi: 10.1002/evan.21454. No abstract available.
• Lee C, Richtsmeier JT, Kraft RH. A computational analysis of bone formation in the cranial vault in the mouse. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2015 Mar 19;3:24. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2015.00024. eCollection 2015.
• Pitirri MK, Richtsmeier JT, Kawasaki M, Coupe AP, Perrine SM, Kawasaki K. Come together over me: Cells that form the dermatocranium and chondrocranium in mice. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2023 Jul 27. doi: 10.1002/ar.25295. Online ahead of print.
• Lesciotto KM, Tomlinson L, Leonard S, Richtsmeier JT. Embryonic and early postnatal cranial bone volume and tissue mineral density values for C57BL/6J laboratory mice. Dev Dyn. 2022 Jul;251(7):1196-1208. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.458. Epub 2022 Feb 7.
• Pitirri MK, Durham EL, Romano NA, Santos JI, Coupe AP, Zheng H, Chen DZ, Kawasaki K, Jabs EW, Richtsmeier JT, Wu M, Motch Perrine SM. Meckel's Cartilage in Mandibular Development and Dysmorphogenesis. Front Genet. 2022 May 16;13:871927. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.871927. eCollection 2022.
• Wu M, Kriti D, van Bakel H, Jabs EW, Holmes G. Laser Capture Microdissection of Mouse Embryonic Cartilage and Bone for Gene Expression Analysis. J Vis Exp. 2019 Dec 18;(154). doi: 10.3791/60503.
• Kawasaki K, Mikami M, Goto M, Shindo J, Amano M, Ishiyama M. The Evolution of Unusually Small Amelogenin Genes in Cetaceans; Pseudogenization, X-Y Gene Conversion, and Feeding Strategy. J Mol Evol. 2020 Mar;88(2):122-135. doi: 10.1007/s00239-019-09917-0. Epub 2019 Nov 22.
• Pitirri MK, Kawasaki K, Richtsmeier JT. It takes two: Building the vertebrate skull from chondrocranium and dermatocranium. Vertebr Zool. 2020 Apr;70(4):587-600. Epub 2020 Oct 28.
• Holmes G, Gonzalez-Reiche AS, Lu N, Zhou X, Rivera J, Kriti D, Sebra R, Williams AA, Donovan MJ, Potter SS, Pinto D, Zhang B, van Bakel H, Jabs EW. Integrated Transcriptome and Network Analysis Reveals Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Calvarial Suturogenesis. Cell Rep. 2020 Jul 7;32(1):107871. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107871.
• Lam AS, Liu CC, Deutsch GH, Rivera J, Perkins JA, Holmes G, Jabs EW, Cunningham ML, Dahl JP. Genotype-Phenotype Correlation of Tracheal Cartilaginous Sleeves and Fgfr2 Mutations in Mice. Laryngoscope. 2021 Apr;131(4):E1349-E1356. doi: 10.1002/lary.29060. Epub 2020 Sep 4.
• Singh R, Cohen ASA, Poulton C, Hjortshoj TD, Akahira-Azuma M, Mendiratta G, Khan WA, Azmanov DN, Woodward KJ, Kirchhoff M, Shi L, Edelmann L, Baynam G, Scott SA, Jabs EW. Deletion of ERF and CIC causes abnormal skull morphology and global developmental delay. Cold Spring Harb Mol Case Stud. 2021 Jun 11;7(3):a005991. doi: 10.1101/mcs.a005991. Print 2021 Jun.
• Holmes G, Gonzalez-Reiche AS, Saturne M, Motch Perrine SM, Zhou X, Borges AC, Shewale B, Richtsmeier JT, Zhang B, van Bakel H, Jabs EW. Single-cell analysis identifies a key role for Hhip in murine coronal suture development. Nat Commun. 2021 Dec 8;12(1):7132. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27402-5.

Helpful Links

• Information about craniosynostosis and the Craniosynostosis Network Project
• The eMOSS staging system-free, public webtool for any PI requiring increased temporal resolution for research using embryonic mice. Developed thru a collaboration-Dr. Joan Richtsmeier lab, Penn State Univ & Dr. James Sharpe lab, Center for G

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 13, 2015
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 31, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 17, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 17, 2017
• First Posted (Estimated): January 20, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 8, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 5, 2023
• Last Verified: September 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Genetics; Imaging; Bone; Human; Genomics; Birth Defect; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells; Skull; Craniosynostosis; Congenital Anomaly; Malformation; Mouse; Cell Biology; System Biology
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Congenital Abnormalities; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Bone Diseases; Craniofacial Abnormalities; Musculoskeletal Abnormalities; Bone Diseases, Developmental; Dysostoses; Synostosis; Craniosynostoses
• Other Study ID Numbers: GCO 13-0147; P01HD078233 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Clinical results from chromosomal analysis and DNA mutation analysis performed in CLIA approved laboratories with standard clinical genetic counseling will be given to the patient upon request. Individual research results will be made available to the individual from the PI or their primary care physician (PCP) who has obtained preliminary results from the PI from our non-CLIA laboratory, as long as the PCP can confirm and validate the lab results through a CLIA approved lab before the results are given to the subjects.