The molecular pathology of genioglossus in obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep respiratory disease characterized by sleep snoring accompanied by apnea and daytime sleeplessness. It is a complex disease, with the multifactorial etiology, and the pathology is incompletely understood. Genioglossus (GG), the largest dilator of upper airway, whose fatigue is strongly correlated to onset of OSA. This brief review was to investigate the pathogenesis of OSA targeting on GG from different risk factors as gender, obesity, and aging, and the molecular mechanism of GG injury in OSA pathogenesis. We hope to find the targeted molecular mechanism on GG in OSA treatment.