Notochord cells in intervertebral disc development and degeneration

Authors

Matthew R. McCann, Western University
Cheryle A. Séguin, Western University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2016

Journal

Journal of Developmental Biology

Volume

4

Issue

1

URL with Digital Object Identifier

10.3390/jdb4010003

Abstract

© 2015 by the authors. All right reserved. The intervertebral disc is a complex structure responsible for flexibility, multi-axial motion, and load transmission throughout the spine. Importantly, degeneration of the intervertebral disc is thought to be an initiating factor for back pain. Due to a lack of understanding of the pathways that govern disc degeneration, there are currently no disease-modifying treatments to delay or prevent degenerative disc disease. This review presents an overview of our current understanding of the developmental processes that regulate intervertebral disc formation, with particular emphasis on the role of the notochord and notochord-derived cells in disc homeostasis and how their loss can result in degeneration. We then describe the role of small animal models in understanding the development of the disc and their use to interrogate disc degeneration and associated pathologies. Finally, we highlight essential development pathways that are associated with disc degeneration and/or implicated in the reparative response of the tissue that might serve as targets for future therapeutic approaches.

Notes

© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons by Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

The article as published can be found at: McCann, M.R.; Séguin, C.A. Notochord Cells in Intervertebral Disc Development and Degeneration. J. Dev. Biol. 2016, 4, 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/jdb4010003

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.