Gastrulation : Current Concepts and Implications for Spinal Malformations.

Gastrulation : Current Concepts and Implications for Spinal Malformations. J Korean Neurosurg Soc. 2020 Dec 16;: Authors: Thompson DNP Abstract It has been recognised for over a century that the events of gastrulation are fundamental in determining, not only the development of the neuraxis but the organisation of the entire primitive embryo. Until recently our understanding of gastrulation was based on detailed histological analysis in animal models and relatively rare human tissue preparations from aborted fetuses. Such studies resulted in a model of gastrulation that neurosurgeons have subsequently used as a means of trying to explain some of the congenital anomalies of caudal spinal cord and vertebral development that present in paediatric neurosurgical practice. Recent advances in developmental biology, in particular cellular biology and molecular genetics have offered new insights into very early development. Understanding the processes that underlie cellular interactions, gene expression and activation/inhibition of signalling pathways has changed the way embryologists view gastrulation and this has led to a shift in emphasis from the 'descriptive and morphological' to the 'mechanistic and functional'. Unfortunately, thus far it has proved difficult to translate this improved knowledge of normal development, typically derived from non-human models, into an understanding of the mechanisms underlying human malformations such as t...
Source: Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society - Category: Neurosurgery Tags: J Korean Neurosurg Soc Source Type: research