In parallel with clinical and epidemiological studies this work addresses three themes: developmental origins of bone health, skeletal differentiation and function; chondroepiphyseal growth and development, including basic mechanisms of osteoarthritis (OA); and musculoskeletal regeneration and mesenchymal stem cells.
Research into the developmental origins of bone health is funded through a 4 year programme (Richard Oreffo, Nick Clarke, Trudy Roach, Cyrus Cooper). The work has established (using rat/ovine models) that a low protein diet influences the osteogenic environment of offspring. Ex vivo models of skeletal differentiation from multipotent adult and fetal stem cells have been developed to inform this process. We were the first to report on epigenetic influences on the risk of osteoarthritis. The group has developed unique tools and protocols to isolate human mesenchymal populations allowing the use of a variety of approaches to modulate differentiation along stromal lineages for tissue regeneration of bone and cartilage. This work has permitted development of human fetal-derived mesenchymal stem cells as well as the use of innovative materials and mathematical modelling strategies to drive tissue regeneration. This research is an important contributor to the University's Life Sciences Interface, with the School of Engineering Sciences and Institute of Sound and Vibration Research.
Current studies include:
- mechanisms of chondro-epiphyseal growth
- cartilage-vascular interactions
- regulation of chondrocyte differentiation in the growth plate
- programmed cell death
- bone and cartilage tissue engineering
- the modulation of osteogenic differentiation in human bone marrow-derived osteoprogenitor cells.
Understanding these processes has tremendous therapeutic potential for many skeletal disorders, ranging from faulty hip development in children to osteoporosis in the elderly.