E-Mail BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Scientists have known for years that mutations in the MLL4 gene can cause Kabuki syndrome, a rare developmental disorder. But a study published on Jan. 11 in Nature Communications illuminates new details regarding how this occurs. (Images are available by contacting Charlotte Hsu in UB Media Relations at chsu22@buffalo.edu.) The research suggests that MLL4 controls the production of neurons that secrete growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. Mice without working copies of the MLL4 gene in this area had stunted growth and markedly fewer GHRH neurons. Mice with only one functioning copy of the gene had similar problems.