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Molecular Analysis of Ephrin A4 and Ephrin B1 in a Rabbit Model of Craniosynostosis

Craniosynostosis (CS) has a prevalence of approximately 1 in every 2000 live births and is characterized by the premature fusion of one or more cranial sutures. Failure to maintain the cell lineage boundary at the coronal suture is thought to be involved in the pathology of some forms of CS. The Ephrin family of receptor tyrosine kinases consists of membrane-bound receptors and ligands that control cell patterning and the formation of developmental boundaries. Mutations in the ephrin A4 (EFNA4) and ephrin B1 (EFNB1) ligands have been linked to nonsyndromic CS and craniofrontonasal syndrome, respectively, in patient samples. We have previously described a colony of rabbits with a heritable pattern of coronal suture synostosis, although the genetic basis for synostosis within this model remains unknown. The present study was performed to determine if EFNA4 or EFNB1 could be the loci of the causal mutation in this unique animal model. Sequencing of EFNA4 and EFNB1 was performed using templates obtained from wild-type (n = 4) and craniosynostotic (n = 4) rabbits. No structural coding errors were identified in either gene. A single-nucleotide transversion was identified in one wild-type rabbit within the third intron of EFNA4. These data indicate that the causal locus for heritable CS in this rabbit model is not located within the structural coding regions of either EFNA4 or EFNB1.