Publication News: Iulianella Lab
“Innervation of the masseter requires Mllt11 (Af1q/Tcf7c) function during trigeminal ganglion development”
This study from the Iulianella lab, entitled "Innervation of the masseter requires Mllt11 (Af1q/Tcf7c) function during trigeminal ganglion development", was led by Research in Medicine student Nick Zinck, with the help of Dr. Danielle Stanton-Turcotte, Dr. Emily Witt, Marley Blommers and Angelo Iulianella.
Nick, who is competing his medical studies at Dalhousie University, discovered that the loss of a novel gene called Mllt11 during craniofacial development resulted in reduced neuronal connectivity to one of the major muscles of the jaw, the masseter. This work sheds light the formation of neuromuscular junctions in head muscles and congenital innervation disorders. This research was supported by an NSERC Discovery Grant to Dr. Iulianella.
Citation: Zinck NW, Stanton-Turcotte D, Witt EA, Blommers M, Iulianella A. Innervation of the masseter requires Mllt11 (Af1q/Tcf7c) function during trigeminal ganglion development. Int J Dev Biol. 2025 Aug 1. doi: 10.1387/ijdb.240249ai