# Cellular and molecular regulation of upper lip fusion by p120-catenin

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2021 · $67,190

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 Skull and facial abnormalities are among the most common birth defects, and such defects often hinder
the physical and mental development of the affected child. In a normal developing child, lip and primary palate
development is a multistep process that includes nasal pit invagination, outgrowth of nasal processes, and
fusion of the medial nasal, lateral nasal, and maxillary processes. Failure of this process results in cleft lip,
which occurs in around one in every 700 live births worldwide, making it the most common craniofacial birth
defect. However, the process is not completely understood, and a comprehensive cellular analysis of normal
lip development is still lacking.
 Recently, mutations in catenin delta 1 (CTNND1) have been correlated with non-syndromic cleft lip and
blepharocheilodontic syndrome, a human condition mainly characterized by facial defects to the eyelids, teeth,
and notably upper lip. Ctnnd1 encodes p120-catenin, a protein best known to maintain adherens junctions, but
with other lesser studied molecular functions as well. Studies in cell culture have shown that p120-catenin also
functions to regulate actomyosin contractility and upstream of WNT signaling, all roles that are important in
tissue morphogenesis. My preliminary data shows that null mutations in Ctnnd1 in the ectoderm results in cleft
lip. How each of the roles of p120-catenin influence upper lip development remains unknown. This preliminary
data support a cadherin-independent role for p120-catenin in the craniofacial ectoderm during lip development.
Here, I use strengths of advanced imaging and gene editing to investigate the cellular and molecular
mechanisms p120-catenin functions in upper lip development.
 The proposed work will be performed in the laboratory of Dr. Jeffrey Bush at University of California
San Francisco, which boasts a dedicated office to the training of postdoctoral scholars. The lab is a part of the
Program in Craniofacial Biology, an active community producing high caliber research and offering
unparalleled support from faculty to trainees. These factors will enable me to successfully carry out the
proposed work and obtain exceptional training towards independent research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10266120
- **Project number:** 5F32DE030367-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Camilla Sue Teng
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $67,190
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-10 → 2023-09-09

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10266120

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10266120, Cellular and molecular regulation of upper lip fusion by p120-catenin (5F32DE030367-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10266120. Licensed CC0.

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