Understanding the forces that shape our bones

Two studies in Ireland are helping us understand more about the forces that shape our bones and joints. The first study led by Dr. Laoise McNamara is studying the stress and strain on bones. She will be monitoring the stretch and pull on cells to shed light on how cells handle the loads we apply on them. Mechanobiology could help us solve health issues such as bone thinning, loss of bone density of astronauts, and hormone effects. They hope to discover appropriate loading (or how much force to exert) for different ages that could ultimately reduce bone loss. This may also lead to developing a bioreactor to grow new bone tissue for grafts. “Biologists have come nowhere near being able to grow new bone in lab because they can’t get the cells to make strong bone tissue – it’s jelly-like and you wouldn’t be able to stand on it,” says McNamara. “So by understanding which cells are most appropriate, and what mechanical loads, how much we put on the cell or how much fluid flow we put over them, [we want] to try and develop a method to grow new bone in the lab.”

The second project will focus on cartilage since there are limited treatment options for damaged cartilage. They are hoping to develop a way of using a person’s own stem cells to rebuild the cartilage. With the use of microbeads, adult stem cells are isolated from the patient’s knee and then used create a biological scaffold. The scaffold is then put back into the joint to grow into cartilage.

Our bones and skeletal system are vital to our everyday life. When something goes wrong, the effects can be devastating. These two studies are leading us down the path to understanding more about the forces are bones handle and a new way to regrow cartilage to help expand the quality of life.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sciencetoday/2011/0120/1224287933858.html