LondonA skull-fusion signal shuts off by day 7.5.
The window makes the fibroblast growth factor receptor FGFR2 a drug target with a deadline.
Two tissues, the dura mater and suture mesenchyme, communicate through this receptor and retinoic acid signaling to keep the seam open.
The findings are in mice only, and no human-equivalent timeline or drug has been proposed.
Sources: Nature