Primary cilia protruding from cell surface are important cell receptors and exist in most types of vertebrate cells. Primary cilia can sense extracellular mechanical signals, chemical signals as well as optical signals, and transduce them into cells, which is crucial for embryonic development and maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Mutations of gene that are responsible for the structure or function of cilia can lead to abnormal cilia signal transport, which in turn leads to ciliopathies. About 30% of ciliopathies are characterized by craniofacial phenotype. The most common cilia-related craniofacial defects include micrognathia, cleft lip, cleft palate, orbital hypertelorism/hypotelorism, flat nasal bridge, prominent forehead, craniosynostosis, and so on, suggesting that primary cilia plays an important role in the normal development of craniofacial development. This review summarizes the key genes involved in the regulation of craniofacial development in primary cilia and the disease phenotypes caused by important cilia gene mutations, in order to provide a reference for understanding the etiology of primary cilia-related craniofacial congenital developmental defects.
初级纤毛是细胞表面突起的重要细胞感受器，存在于脊椎动物大多数类型的细胞。初级纤毛可感受细胞外的机械信号、化学信号和光信号并将其传导至细胞内，对胚胎发育和维持组织稳态等至关重要。负责纤毛结构或功能的基因突变可导致纤毛信号转导异常，进而导致纤毛病。约30%的纤毛病以颅颌面表型为特征，常见的纤毛病相关颅颌面缺陷包括小颌畸形、唇裂、腭裂、眶距过宽或过窄、鼻梁扁平、前额突出和颅缝早闭等，提示初级纤毛在颅颌面发育过程中发挥重要作用。本文总结了初级纤毛中参与调控颅颌面发育过程的关键基因以及重要纤毛基因突变造成的疾病表型，以期为了解初级纤毛相关颅颌面先天性发育缺陷的病因提供参考。.