Regulation of complex cellular interactions by mechanical forces: mathematical modeling and experimental studies of bone turnover

骨的主要功能之一是为身体提供机械支撑。重要的是，骨骼可以调整其结构以适应身体的生理需求，因此，活跃的人骨量增加，不活跃的人骨量减少，尤其是不活动的人。长时间的太空旅行是由于身体需求减少而导致骨质流失的一种情况。为了改变骨组织的结构，需要使用两种细胞：破坏骨骼的破骨细胞和构建骨骼的成骨细胞。机械力可以直接诱导成骨细胞和破骨细胞发生变化。此外，机械力可以影响骨细胞产生的可溶性分子的类型和数量，从而影响它们的通讯。我们的研究目的是研究机械力如何影响a)单个骨细胞，b)相同类型和不同类型骨细胞之间的相互作用，以及c)骨细胞的后续功能。除了实验方法，我们将使用数学建模来帮助我们分析骨细胞内部和骨细胞之间的机械力诱导的复杂过程。这些研究对于我们全面了解骨骼对机械力的敏感性和适应性是重要的，并且可能有助于克服长期卧床休息和暴露于微重力下引起的骨质流失。

One of the main functions of bone is to provide mechanical support for the body. Importantly, bone can adjust its structure to match the physical demands of a body, so that bone mass increases in a physically active person and decreases in an inactive, and especially immobilized person. One of the situations where bone loss due to decrease in physical demand is observed is prolonged space travel. To change the structure of bone tissue, two cell types are employed: osteoclasts that destroy bone and osteoblasts that build bone. Mechanical forces can induce direct changes within osteoblasts and osteoclasts. In addition, mechanical forces can affect the type and amount of soluble molecules produced by bone cells, thus affecting their communications. The objectives of our studies are to examine how mechanical forces affect a) individual bone cells, b) interactions between bone cells of the same type and of different type, and c) subsequent functions of bone cell. In addition to experimental approaches, we will use mathematical modeling to help in our analysis of complex processes induced by mechanical forces within and between bone cells. These studies are important for our overall understanding of bone sensitivity and adaptation to mechanical forces, and may help to overcome bone loss induced by prolonged bed rest and exposure to microgravity.