Spatial Relationships Between Trabecular Bone Tissue Strain and Bone Formation

骨小梁是一种海绵状的骨组织，存在于骨的内部区域，靠近关节和椎体。人们很早就知道松质骨结构与习惯性活动引起的机械应力对齐，但这种对齐是如何发生的还不清楚。该项目的研究目标是：1)建立确定单次循环压缩载荷后骨小梁组织应力/应变和骨形成之间的空间关系的方法；以及2)确定局部骨细胞(一种被认为负责感知机械刺激的骨细胞)是否影响组织应力/应变和骨形成之间的空间关系。在这个项目中，通过检测骨组织中骨细胞所处的微孔来确定骨细胞的数量。骨小梁是骨骼中容易发生骨质疏松相关骨折的区域(髋关节、手腕、脊柱)的主要结构成分，了解机械刺激如何影响骨小梁结构有可能改进骨折风险评估和骨折风险预防策略。在这项工作中产生的方法将通过整合到名为“骨的力学”的研究生课程中来加强教学。此外，作为这一项目的一部分，调查人员将为面向代表不足群体的本科生和研究生举办的年度讲习班做出贡献，目的是帮助学生为进入研究生院和从事科学和工程职业做准备。该项目的科学工作将通过在科学会议上的发言和在科学期刊上发表文章来传播。

Trabecular bone is the sponge-like bone tissue present in the internal regions of bone near joints and in the vertebral centrum. It has long been known that trabecular bone structure is aligned with mechanical stresses caused by habitual activities but it remains unclear how such alignment occurs. The research goals of this project are to: 1) establish methods to determine the spatial relationship between trabecular bone tissue stress/stain and bone formation following a single bout of cyclic compressive loading; and 2) determine if the local population of osteocytes (a type of bone cell believed to be responsible for sensing mechanical stimuli) influences the spatial relationship between tissue stress/strain and bone formation. In this project osteocyte populations are determined by detecting the microscopic holes where osteocytes reside within bone tissue. Trabecular bone is a major structural component in regions of the skeleton prone to osteoporosis-related fractures (hip, wrist, spine) and understanding how mechanical stimuli influence trabecular bone structure has the potential to improve fracture risk assessment and fracture risk prevention strategies. The methods generated in the work will enhance teaching through integration into a graduate course entitled "Mechanics of Bone." Additionally, as part of this project the investigators will contribute to an annual workshop targeted to undergraduates and graduate students from an under-represented group with the goal of helping prepare the students for graduate school and careers in science and engineering. The scientific work in the project will be disseminated through presentations at scientific conferences and publications in scientific journals.