BMP7 and cleft palate: As expected, mice deficient for Irf6, Msx1, Tgf-β3, or Bmp7 partially or completely mimic the cleft palate phenotype of humans with mutations or polymorphisms in these genes (Satokata and Maas, 1994; Proetzel et al., 1995; Ingraham et al., 2006; Zouvelou et al., 2009a).