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The Enigmatic Reissner’s Fiber and the Origin of Chordates

Reissner’s fiber (RF) is a secreted filament that floats in the neural canal of chordates. Since its discovery in 1860, there has been no agreement on its primary function, and its strong conservation across chordate species has remained a mystery for comparative neuroanatomists. Several findings, i...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Aboitiz, Francisco, Montiel, Juan F.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8261243/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34248511
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2021.703835
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author Aboitiz, Francisco
Montiel, Juan F.
author_facet Aboitiz, Francisco
Montiel, Juan F.
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description Reissner’s fiber (RF) is a secreted filament that floats in the neural canal of chordates. Since its discovery in 1860, there has been no agreement on its primary function, and its strong conservation across chordate species has remained a mystery for comparative neuroanatomists. Several findings, including the chemical composition and the phylogenetic history of RF, clinical observations associating RF with the development of the neural canal, and more recent studies suggesting that RF is needed to develop a straight vertebral column, may shed light on the functions of this structure across chordates. In this article, we will briefly review the evidence mentioned above to suggest a role of RF in the origin of fundamental innovations of the chordate body plan, especially the elongation of the neural tube and maintenance of the body axis. We will also mention the relevance of RF for medical conditions like hydrocephalus, scoliosis of the vertebral spine and possibly regeneration of the spinal cord.
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spelling pubmed-82612432021-07-08 The Enigmatic Reissner’s Fiber and the Origin of Chordates Aboitiz, Francisco Montiel, Juan F. Front Neuroanat Neuroanatomy Reissner’s fiber (RF) is a secreted filament that floats in the neural canal of chordates. Since its discovery in 1860, there has been no agreement on its primary function, and its strong conservation across chordate species has remained a mystery for comparative neuroanatomists. Several findings, including the chemical composition and the phylogenetic history of RF, clinical observations associating RF with the development of the neural canal, and more recent studies suggesting that RF is needed to develop a straight vertebral column, may shed light on the functions of this structure across chordates. In this article, we will briefly review the evidence mentioned above to suggest a role of RF in the origin of fundamental innovations of the chordate body plan, especially the elongation of the neural tube and maintenance of the body axis. We will also mention the relevance of RF for medical conditions like hydrocephalus, scoliosis of the vertebral spine and possibly regeneration of the spinal cord. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-06-23 /pmc/articles/PMC8261243/ /pubmed/34248511 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2021.703835 Text en Copyright © 2021 Aboitiz and Montiel. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Neuroanatomy
Aboitiz, Francisco
Montiel, Juan F.
The Enigmatic Reissner’s Fiber and the Origin of Chordates
title The Enigmatic Reissner’s Fiber and the Origin of Chordates
title_full The Enigmatic Reissner’s Fiber and the Origin of Chordates
title_fullStr The Enigmatic Reissner’s Fiber and the Origin of Chordates
title_full_unstemmed The Enigmatic Reissner’s Fiber and the Origin of Chordates
title_short The Enigmatic Reissner’s Fiber and the Origin of Chordates
title_sort enigmatic reissner’s fiber and the origin of chordates
topic Neuroanatomy
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8261243/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34248511
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2021.703835
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