Northwestern Medicine researchers have revealed new mechanisms involved in spinal column development during embryonic growth, as detailed in a study published in Nature Communications. The spinal column forms from somites, which are influenced by a vertebrate segmentation clock directing the slicing of these discs. Two proteins, Her1 and Her7, along with DeltaC and DeltaD, play critical roles in regulating this process. Mutations in these pathways can lead to spinal defects like congenital scoliosis, highlighting the importance of cell communication in achieving proper segmentation.
It's a sequential segmentation and periodic segmentation, and the clock refers to some genes that express RNA and proteins. These expressions are not always occurring constantly, it happens in oscillations, like waves.
There's a collective action. Hundreds of cells synchronously produce and degrade these molecules and that requires cell-to-cell communication.
#spinal-column-development #congenital-scoliosis #embryonic-development #cell-biology #notch-signaling-pathway
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