Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39775862›Full record

ArticleDevelopment (Cambridge, England)2025

FGFR2 directs inhibition of WNT signaling to regulate anterior fontanelle closure during skull development.

Lauren Bobzin, Audrey Nickle, Sebastian Ko, Michaela Ince, Aaron Huang, Arshia Bhojwani, Ryan Roberts, Amy E Merrill

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Development (Cambridge, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Further Evidence of Early-Onset Osteoporosis and Bone Fractures as a NewInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Lauren BobzinCenter for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5048-8428
Audrey NickleCenter for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8212-3896
Sebastian KoCenter for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8354-9167
Michaela InceCenter for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8997-3188
Aaron HuangCenter for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Arshia BhojwaniCenter for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Ryan RobertsCenter for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Amy E MerrillCenter for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3660-1575

Funding

DOCTORAL AND POST-DOCTORAL TRAINING IN CRANIOFACIAL BIOLOGYT90DE021982 · NIDCR · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI PAINE, MICHAEL LANSDELL · 2011 to 2025
$6.2M
THE ROLE OF FGFR2 IN PROTEIN SYNTHESIS DURING SKELETAL DEVELOPMENTR01DE025222 · NIDCR · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI MERRILL, AMY E · 2015 to 2024
$3.7M
Training in Developmental Biology, Stem Cells and RegenerationT32HD060549 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI Gage D Crump · 2011 to 2026
$2.5M
Regulating Skeletal Connectivity in Craniofacial Development and DiseaseR35DE034346 · NIDCR · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI Amy E Merrill · 2024 to 2026
$2.3M
Mechanisms of Craniosynostosis in Bent Bone Dysplasia SyndromeF31DE032259 · NIDCR · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI NICKLE, AUDREY · 2022 to 2024
$146k
NICHD NIH HHS T32 HD060549NIDCR NIH HHS F31 DE032259NIDCR NIH HHS F3 1DE032259NIDCR NIH HHS R01 DE025222NIDCR NIH HHS R35 DE034346NIDCR NIH HHS T90 DE021982
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The calvarial bones of the infant skull are linked by transient fibrous joints known as sutures and fontanelles, which are essential for skull compression during birth and expansion during postnatal brain growth. Genetic conditions caused by pathogenic variants in FGFR2, such as Apert, Pfeiffer, and Crouzon syndromes, result in calvarial deformities due to premature suture fusion and a persistently open anterior fontanelle (AF). In this study, we investigated how Fgfr2 regulates AF closure by leveraging mouse genetics and single-cell transcriptomics. We find that AF cells, marked by the tendon/ligament factor SCX, are spatially organized into ecto- and endocranial domains that selectively differentiate into ligament, bone, and cartilage to form the posterior frontal suture. We show that AF cell differentiation is non-autonomously regulated by FGFR2 signaling in osteogenic front cells of the frontal bones, which regulate WNT signaling in neighboring AF cells by expressing the secreted WNT inhibitor Wif1. Upon loss of Fgfr2, Wif1 expression is downregulated, and AF cells fail to form the posterior frontal suture. This study identifies an FGF-WNT signaling circuit that that directs suture formation within the AF during postnatal development.

Indexed as

Cranial FontanellesReceptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 2SkullWnt Signaling PathwayAdaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingAnimalsCell DifferentiationCranial SuturesGene Expression Regulation, DevelopmentalMiceOsteogenesisAdaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingFgfr2 protein, mouseReceptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 2Anterior fontanelleCalvariaCraniofacialFGFFgfr2Frontal sutureLgr5MouseScxWNT

Identifiers

PMID39775862
PMCPMC11829768

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.