About the project
A specialized vascular structure in bone, the Bone Remodeling Compartment (BRC) has been defined by the applicant and his group. The inner lining of the BRC is the denuded bone surface, while outer lining of this structure is a dome of flattened cells, which display immunoreactivity similar to bone lining cells. This structure has been associated with the regulation of bone remodeling activity and metastatic spread to bone. The underlying hypothesis for the whole program is that the BML plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis underlying 2 frequent conditions affecting tens of thousands of patients in Norway each year: 1) Bone Marrow Lesions (BMLs), which are associated with pain an progression of inflammatory and non-inflammatory conditions involving bone (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, tendinitis, acute fracture); 2) bone metastases, which cause pain, pathological fractures and mortality in terminal cancer.
The aim of the study is threefold:
- To further characterize local regulation of BRC formation and involution during normal bone remodeling.
- To characterize the involvement of the BRC and protein expression in the microenvironment of BMLs.
- To characterize the involvement of the BRC and cytokines/growth factors associated with the BRC in the seeding and spread of bone metastases.
Financing
The project got funding from Helse Sør-Øst.