Improving our understanding of osteoclasts in bone metabolic diseases through novel osteoclast models

In this project we investigate how osteoclasts interact with the extracellular matrix (ECM), the material that makes up your body outside of your cells, in health and disease. Osteoclasts are the cells that degrade bone, and in some cases cartilage, as the skeleton needs to grow or heal from injuries during your life. These cells are unique in being able to degrade the calcium-containing bone ECM and this is an essential function for a healthy skeleton. In addition to their normal role, osteoclasts have also been indicated to be important in bone and cartilage diseases. In this project we investigate their role in both metabolic bone diseases (e.g. osteopetrosis, where the skeleton turns hard and brittle) as well as in cartilage degradation (such as in osteoarthritis). We are also developing new treatments and diagnostic tools (biomarkers) for these diseases.

The project can be divided into three main categories:
Establishing a new cell culture model to test how osteoclasts degrade the different ECMs of knee joints, with a particular focus on cartilage
Developing new biomarkers for cartilage degradation by osteoclasts
The development of gene therapy for a severe lethal form of osteopetrosis called infantile malignant osteopetrosis (IMO)