Characteristics of Masticatory and Tongue Muscles

The masticatory and tongue muscles play essential roles in several significant biological tasks such as mastication, swallowing, respiration, and human speech and they have unique characteristics different and distinct from other muscles. The present paper summarizes the findings regarding the following issues concerning the characteristics of masticatory and tongue muscles, and, in addition briefly, introduces the content of each paper in the present series of reviews.1.Developmental origin of masticatory and tongue muscles.2.Regulatory program controlling masticatory myogenesis.3.Regulatory program governing tongue myogenesis.4.Myosin isoforms and developmental changes in the function of masticatory muscles.5.Degeneration and regeneration of masticatory muscles.Important issues concerned with the development, regeneration, and function of masticatory and tongue muscles remain to be clarified. Adult stem cells and non-coding RNA seem to play important roles in the unsolved issues. Future research should focus on studying the characteristics and functions of adult stem cells and microRNA in masticatory and tongue muscles.