Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40985890›Full record

ArticleJCI insight2025

Nf2/FGFR1/AKT axis directs cranial neural crest-derived skull morphogenesis via collagen synthesis and trafficking.

Yuping Huang, Junguang Liao, Panpan Shen, Yiliang He, Fuju Sun, Qi Zhang, Changlin Zheng, Xingen Zhang, Haibo Li, Guiqian Chen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JCI insight, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Nf2 orchestrates β-arrestin2-biased PTH1R signaling to couple bone mass with skeletal integrity.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Yuping HuangDepartment of Biopharmaceutics, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center of New Technologies and Applications for Targeted Therapy of Major Diseases, College of Life Science and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.
Junguang LiaoDepartment of Biopharmaceutics, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center of New Technologies and Applications for Targeted Therapy of Major Diseases, College of Life Science and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.
Panpan ShenDepartment of Biopharmaceutics, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center of New Technologies and Applications for Targeted Therapy of Major Diseases, College of Life Science and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.
Yiliang HeDepartment of Biopharmaceutics, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center of New Technologies and Applications for Targeted Therapy of Major Diseases, College of Life Science and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.
Fuju SunDepartment of Biopharmaceutics, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center of New Technologies and Applications for Targeted Therapy of Major Diseases, College of Life Science and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.
Qi ZhangDepartment of Biopharmaceutics, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center of New Technologies and Applications for Targeted Therapy of Major Diseases, College of Life Science and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.
Changlin ZhengDepartment of Biopharmaceutics, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center of New Technologies and Applications for Targeted Therapy of Major Diseases, College of Life Science and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.
Xingen ZhangDepartment of Orthopedics, Jiaxing Key Laboratory for Minimally Invasive Surgery in Orthopedics & Skeletal Regenerative Medicine, Zhejiang Rongjun Hospital, Jiaxin, China.
Haibo LiThe Central Laboratory of Birth Defects Prevention and Control, Ningbo Women and Children's Hospital, Ningbo Key Laboratory for the Prevention and Treatment of Embryogenic Diseases, The Affiliated Women and Children's Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
Guiqian ChenDepartment of Biopharmaceutics, Zhejiang Provincial Engineering Research Center of New Technologies and Applications for Targeted Therapy of Major Diseases, College of Life Science and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cranial neural crest cells (CNCs) play a critical role in craniofacial bone morphogenesis, engaging in intricate interactions with various molecular signals to ensure proper development, yet the molecular scaffolds coordinating these processes remain incompletely defined. Here, we identify neurofibromin 2 (Nf2) as a critical regulator to direct CNC-derived skull morphogenesis. Genetic ablation of Nf2 in murine CNCs causes severe craniofacial anomalies, featuring declined proliferation and increased apoptosis in osteoprogenitors, impaired type I collagen biosynthesis and trafficking, and aberrant osteogenic mineralization. Mechanistically, we uncover that Nf2 serves as a molecular linker that individually interacts with FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1) and Akt through spatially segregated phosphor-sites, and structural modeling and mutagenesis identified Ser10 and Thr230 as essential residues, with Thr230 mutation selectively ablating Akt binding while preserving FGFR1 association. Strikingly, Akt inhibition phenocopied Nf2 deficiency, reducing collagen production and Nf2 phosphorylation, whereas phospho-mimetic Nf2 (T230D) rescued CNC-derived osteogenic defects in Nf2-mutant animals. Our findings underscore the physiological significance of Nf2 as a phosphorylation-operated scaffold licensing the FGFR1/AKT axis to regulate collagen type I biogenesis and trafficking, ensuring normal CNC-derived osteogenesis and craniofacial bone development, thus exposing the Nf2/FGFR1/AKT signaling axis as a therapeutic target and promising advancements in treatment of craniofacial anomalies.

Indexed as

CollagenNeural CrestNeurofibromin 2Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-aktReceptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1SkullAnimalsCraniofacial AbnormalitiesMiceMorphogenesisOsteogenesisPhosphorylationSignal TransductionCollagenFgfr1 protein, mouseNeurofibromin 2Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-aktReceptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1Bone biologyBone developmentCell biology

Identifiers

PMID40985890
PMCPMC12487865

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.