Disruption of DNA Methylation–Mediated Cranial Neural Crest Proliferation and Differentiation Causes Orofacial Clefts in Mice

The authors interrogated the role of DNA methylation, an environmentally malleable epigenetic mechanism, in orofacial development. Expression of the key DNA methyltransferase enzyme DNMT1 was detected throughout palate morphogenesis in the epithelium and underlying cranial neural crest cell mesenchyme, a highly proliferative multipotent stem cell population that forms orofacial connective tissue.