Interdisciplinary Initiatives Program Round 12 - 2024
Project Investigators:
Yunzhi Peter Yang, Orthopaedic Surgery
Bo Wang, Bioengineering
Stanley Qi, Bioengineering
Abstract:
Our research tackles the challenge of treating bone deficiencies caused by musculoskeletal diseases and trauma, which currently burden society with an estimated $949 billion USD annually. We will explore the remarkable regenerative properties of deer antlers, the only mammalian bone tissue known to regenerate at an astonishing rate—up to 2.5 cm per day, and potentially adding as much as 10 kg in just 2-3 months. This regenerative pace far exceeds that of human femur bones, which grow at about 2 cm per year during puberty. Our study aims to understand how deer antlers grow so quickly and how we may apply this knowledge to help human bone repair. We plan to (1) analyze the molecular characteristics of deer skeletal progenitor cells, (2) compare these cells to rodent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which play a role in bone growth and repair, to identify key factors that might explain the differences in how deer and mouse cells grow, and (3) boost the growth of mouse MSCs using these identified factors. By combining insights from musculoskeletal biology, regenerative biology, and genetic screening, our research could pave the way for new treatments to enhance bone repair and regeneration in humans, offering a revolutionary approach to treating various bone diseases and injuries.
