ROLE OF GENES AND INTERACTION BETWEEN GENES AND ENVIROMENT ON CLEFT LIP AND PALATE ETIOLOGY

Cleft lip and/or cleft palate are one of the most common birth defects. these anomalies are caused by genetic, environmental factors and combination of these factors. with recent advances in modern molecular biology and methods which are used for the analysis of population genetics, important progress has been made in identifying some of genes associated with cleft lip and palate. recently multiple genes have been implicated in the etiology of clefting. additional disturbances in growth factors or their receptors that may be involved in the failure of fusion include fibroblast growth factor, transforming growth factor-p, platelet-derived growth factor, and epidermal growth factor. in last ten years, especially interactions between some genes and enviromental factors were pointed out in cleft lip and palate etiology. for the improvement of the prevention strategies and treatment methods of cleft lip and palate, thorough investigation of the fetal and maternal genoms and taking precautions with the planned pregnancy about the possible risks are of great importance.