Northwestern Medicine investigators have identified novel mechanisms regulating the development of the spinal column during embryonic development, findings that could inform new treatments for congenital scoliosis and other related birth defects, according to a recent study published in Nature Communications.

The spinal column of all vertebrate species, including humans, is divided into segments (vertebral discs), which give the spine both flexibility and mobility.

During early embryonic development, these discs develop from specialized cells called somites and are sequentially “sliced” into separate discs, a process driven by a biological clock called the vertebrate segmentation clock.