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  • Skeletal stem and progenito...
    Menon, Siddharth; Salhotra, Ankit; Shailendra, Siny; Tevlin, Ruth; Ransom, Ryan C; Januszyk, Michael; Chan, Charles K F; Behr, Björn; Wan, Derrick C; Longaker, Michael T; Quarto, Natalina

    Nature communications, 07/2021, Volume: 12, Issue: 1
    Journal Article

    Cranial sutures are major growth centers for the calvarial vault, and their premature fusion leads to a pathologic condition called craniosynostosis. This study investigates whether skeletal stem/progenitor cells are resident in the cranial sutures. Prospective isolation by FACS identifies this population with a significant difference in spatio-temporal representation between fusing versus patent sutures. Transcriptomic analysis highlights a distinct signature in cells derived from the physiological closing PF suture, and scRNA sequencing identifies transcriptional heterogeneity among sutures. Wnt-signaling activation increases skeletal stem/progenitor cells in sutures, whereas its inhibition decreases. Crossing Axin2 mouse, endowing enhanced Wnt activation, to a Twist1 mouse model of coronal craniosynostosis enriches skeletal stem/progenitor cells in sutures restoring patency. Co-transplantation of these cells with Wnt3a prevents resynostosis following suturectomy in Twist1 mice. Our study reveals that decrease and/or imbalance of skeletal stem/progenitor cells representation within sutures may underlie craniosynostosis. These findings have translational implications toward therapeutic approaches for craniosynostosis.