Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, Vol 12, 3-17, Copyright © 2001 by International & American Associations for Dental Research

ARTICLES

Molecular regulation of tongue and craniofacial muscle differentiation

C. F. Shuler and K. R. Dalrymple
University of Southern California, Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Los Angeles 90033, USA.

The molecular regulation of muscle development is tightly controlled at three distinct stages of the process: determination, differentiation, and maturation. Developmentally, specific populations of myoblasts exhibit distinct molecular phenotypes that begin to limit the ultimate characteristics of the muscle fibers. The expression of the myogenic regulatory factor family of the transcription process plays a key role in muscle development and, ultimately, in the subset of contractile genes expressed in a specific muscle. Craniofacial muscles have distinct functional requirements and associated molecular phenotypes that distinguish them from other skeletal muscles. The general principles of muscle molecular differentiation with specific reference to craniofacial muscles, such as the tongue, are discussed in this review.

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