Engineering microenvironments to regulate osteocyte 3D networks in vitro

大多数关于骨骼的知识只基于骨骼中发现的一小部分细胞，因为我们骨骼中的大多数细胞(称为骨细胞网络)不容易在体外培养或研究。这导致无法了解骨骼器官是如何发挥作用的。利用生物灵感工程，该项目将首次使用先进的生物材料来丰富体外培养的骨细胞网络。通过揭示它们是如何形成的，并通过操纵它们的微环境来控制它们，我们将发现不同类型的骨骼是如何形成的。这些好处将是骨骼研究界的一个有价值的工具，使未来能够解决悬而未决的问题，例如骨骼如何形成、修复和重塑。

Most knowledge of bone is based on only a fraction of cells found in bone because the majority of cells in our bones (called osteocyte cell networks) cannot easily be grown or studied outside the body. This results in the inability to understand how the bone organ functions. Using bioinspired engineering, this project will use advanced biomaterials to biofabricate, for the first time, osteocyte cell networks in vitro. By unravelling how they are formed and controlled by manipulating their microenvironment, we will discover how different types of bones are formed. The benefits will be a valuable tool for the bone research community, allowing unresolved questions to be addressed in the future, such as how bone forms, repairs, and remodels.