Spatial Relationships Between Trabecular Bone Tissue Strain and Bone Formation

骨小梁是存在于靠近关节的骨内部区域和椎体中的海绵状骨组织。 人们早就知道骨小梁结构与习惯性活动引起的机械应力对齐，但仍不清楚这种对齐是如何发生的。 本项目的研究目标是：1）建立确定单次循环压缩载荷后松质骨组织应力/应变与骨形成之间的空间关系的方法; 2）确定骨细胞（一种被认为负责感知机械刺激的骨细胞）的局部群体是否影响组织应力/应变与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驻留的微观孔来确定骨细胞群。 松质骨是骨骼中易发生骨质疏松相关骨折（髋关节、腕关节、脊柱）的主要结构成分，了解机械刺激如何影响松质骨结构有可能改善骨折风险评估和骨折风险预防策略。 在工作中产生的方法将通过整合到一个名为“骨力学”的研究生课程中来提高教学效果。“此外，作为该项目的一部分，调查人员将为一个针对代表性不足的群体的本科生和研究生的年度研讨会做出贡献，目的是帮助学生为研究生院和科学与工程职业做好准备。 该项目的科学工作将通过在科学会议上的介绍和在科学期刊上的出版物传播。

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.