Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Sep;1(3):e1030.
doi: 10.1002/jsp2.1030. Epub 2018 Aug 28.

Latest advances in intervertebral disc development and progenitor cells

Cheryle A Séguin  1 , Danny Chan  2 , Chitra L Dahia  3 , Zulma Gazit  4
Affiliations
Review

Latest advances in intervertebral disc development and progenitor cells

Cheryle A Séguin et al. JOR Spine. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

This paper is a concise review aiming to assemble the most relevant topics presented by the authors at ORS-Philadelphia Spine Research Society Fourth International Spine Research Symposium. It centers on the latest advances in disc development, its main structural entities, and the populating cells, with emphasis on the advances in pivotal molecular pathways responsible for forming the intervertebral discs (IVD). The objective of finding and emphasizing pathways and mechanisms that function to control tissue formation is to identify and to explore modifications occurring during normal aging, disease, and tissue repair. Thus, to comprehend that the cellular and molecular basis of tissue degeneration are crucial in the study of the dynamic interplay that includes cell-cell communication, gene regulation, and growth factors required to form a healthy and functional tissue during normal development.

Keywords: development; stem cell; tissue‐specific progenitor cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare not to have any conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic illustration depicting key stages of intervertebral disc development, highlighting the growth factors, morphogens, and transcription factors. Depiction of key stages in axial skeletogenesis, including (A) node formation and elongation in the early embryo; (B) aggregation of the somatic mesenchyme around the notochord to form a continuous perichordal tube with metameric condensation of the axial mesenchyme (depicted by darker blue bands) leading to spine segmentation; and (C) formation of intervertebral discs. Notochord/nucleus pulposus derived structures are colored in red, and structures contributing to the annulus fibrosus are colored in blue. At each stage, selected growth factors, morphogens, and transcription factors (TFs) known to be required for IVD development are indicated, with notochord/nucleus pulposus associated factors indicated in red, and annulus fibrosus associated factors indicated in blue
Figure 2
Figure 2
Identified progenitor cells populating the IVD and the changes in their numbers as a function of time, from development, through homeostasis and to aging. Depiction of cells with MSC properties, low‐cycling cells near the perichondrium of the vertebral body, notochordal and Tie2+/GD2+ and other progenitor cells
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Niehrs C. Regionally specific induction by the Spemann‐Mangold organizer. Nat Rev Genet. 2004;5(6):425‐434. - PubMed
    1. Mangold H. Über die Induktion von Embryonalanlagen durch Implantation artfremder Organisatoren. Roux Arch Entw Mech Org. 1924;100:599‐638.
    1. Oppenheimer JM. Transplantation experiments on developing teleosts (Fundulus and Perca). J Exp Zool. 1936;72:409‐437.
    1. Waddington CH. Developmental mechanics of chick and duck embryos. Nature. 1930;125:924‐925.
    1. Beddington RS. Induction of a second neural axis by the mouse node. Development. 1994;120(3):613‐620. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources