The worldwide incidence and economic burden of skeletal disorders and bone defects have increased considerably in the past decades and are closely associated with population aging. Given the unmet regenerative potential of small bone defects and the limited effectiveness of treatment options for large bone grafts and diseases, it is straightforward to develop optimal and reliable in vitro systems that mimic bone remodeling, in order to study bone physiology, as well as accurately propose and validate therapeutic approaches.
The remodeling cycle is a well-orchestrated and not random process that involves mainly osteoblasts and osteoclasts, but also immune cells. Therefore, this project aims to simulate and test the spatiotemporal dynamics of bone formation and resorption in different tissue-engineered scaffolds by combining bone forming and bone resorbing cells in vitro.
In the interdisciplinary field of tissue engineering, both bone formation and bone resorption have been achieved individually, at least in 2D. The combination of these two approaches in 3D with real-time monitoring of tissue development using micro-computed tomography enables to compare the state of the tissue and structural changes at different time points. Also, sensitivity of cell differentiation when subjected to repeated x-ray imaging will be analyzed. In parallel, the macrophage role towards bone remodeling is investigated.
An in vitro system that combines both the bone formation and the bone resorption process as well as the interaction between the involved cells will contribute to a better understanding of the bone remodeling process, the major cause of many bone diseases.