Cilia Back

Scoliosis is a human condition where the spine develops a curve yet its cause is still a little mysterious. Here, researchers turn to a simpler but similar organism, the zebrafish, for clues. Assembled in 3D from micro-computed tomography images, we see the healthy spine of a young zebrafish (grey) and curved spines of three different fish (highlighted in bright colours) laid over the top. These fish have a genetic mutation – but how might this lead to scoliosis? The key could be cilia – hairlike structures on the surface of cells. Their mutation changes the cilia so they can’t transfer important chemicals, or waft cerebrospinal fluid around as efficiently as they do in healthy fish. Researchers believe this leads to a build up of astroglia cells, preventing the spine from shaping properly. As the developing human nervous system also relies on cilia, these important clues might influence future therapies.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Video from work by Morgane Djebar and colleagues
• Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR7622, INSERM U1156, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (IBPS) - Developmental Biology Unit, Paris, France
• Video originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, October 2024