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Collagen and Other Proteins of the Nucleus Pulposus, Annulus Fibrosus, and Cartilage End Plates

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The Intervertebral Disc

Abstract

Characterized by the presence of at least one triple-helical domain, members of the collagen family are the most abundant proteins in the animal kingdom. From a phylogenetic perspective, while the triple-helical domain is present in bacteria and fungi and even some viruses, collagen and collagen-like proteins have been identified in all metazoa. With the appearance of the phylum Chordata, the notochord provided a “first” skeleton which enabled the organism to assume a longitudinal shape and provided support for the digestive tube and the nerve cord. This notochordal structure is sheathed in collagen; postembryonic remnants of the notochord in vertebrates form the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral discs. Zhang et al. (2009) have put forward the hypothesis that the vertebrate chondrocytes that all express the type II gene may have evolved from notochordal cells. In vertebrates, collagen fibrils formed the template for deposition of mineral and the development of bone and cartilage of the axial and appendicular skeleton.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. Mwale is funded by AO Spine, Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), and North American Spine Society (NASS). The author thanks Drs. Shapiro and Risbud for critically reading the manuscript and providing valuable suggestions and Dr. Ovidiu Ciobanu for generating the figures and hel** with the manuscript.

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  1. Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, McGill University, 3755 Chemin de la Cote Ste-Catherine, Montreal, QC, H3T 1E2, Canada

    Fackson Mwale

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  1. Jefferson Medical College Div Ortho Rsch/Dept Othro Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Irving M. Shapiro

  2. Jefferson Medical College Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Makarand V. Risbud

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Mwale, F. (2014). Collagen and Other Proteins of the Nucleus Pulposus, Annulus Fibrosus, and Cartilage End Plates. In: Shapiro, I., Risbud, M. (eds) The Intervertebral Disc. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1535-0_5

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