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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 31, 2025

Generation of Dispersed Presomitic Mesoderm Cell Cultures for Imaging of the Zebrafish Segmentation Clock in Single Cells

Generation of Dispersed Presomitic Mesoderm Cell Cultures for Imaging of the Zebrafish Segmentation Clock in Single Cells

Published on: July 24, 2014

In vitro characterization of the human segmentation clock.

Margarete Diaz-Cuadros^1,2, Daniel E Wagner³, Christoph Budjan^1,2

¹Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

|January 10, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Scientists have identified the human segmentation clock, a molecular oscillator controlling vertebral column development. This discovery reveals conserved mechanisms between humans and mice, advancing our understanding of embryogenesis and spine segmentation defects.

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Last Updated: Dec 31, 2025

Generation of Dispersed Presomitic Mesoderm Cell Cultures for Imaging of the Zebrafish Segmentation Clock in Single Cells

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Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures

Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures

Published on: November 11, 2016

Area of Science:

Developmental Biology
Molecular Biology
Genetics

Background:

Vertebral column segmentation is crucial for embryonic development.
Somite formation relies on a molecular oscillator called the segmentation clock.
The existence and characteristics of a human segmentation clock were previously unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether a segmentation clock mechanism exists in human development.
To characterize the properties and regulation of the human segmentation clock.
To compare the human segmentation clock with that of model organisms.

Main Methods:

In vitro differentiation of human and mouse presomitic mesoderm (PSM) cells.
Analysis of cellular oscillations and gene expression patterns.
Single-cell RNA sequencing to compare developmental trajectories.
Perturbation of signaling pathways (FGF, WNT, Notch, YAP) to assess their roles.

Main Results:

Human PSM cells recapitulate segmentation clock oscillations in vitro.
Human oscillations have a longer period (5 hours) than mouse oscillations (2.5 hours).
Both human and mouse PSM cell oscillations are regulated by FGF, WNT, Notch, and YAP signaling.
FGF signaling was shown to control oscillation phase and period.

Conclusions:

The human segmentation clock is conserved with that of model organisms.
This finding is a significant step in understanding human embryogenesis and spinal development.
The study clarifies the role of signaling pathways in regulating segmentation clock dynamics.