Project abstract
There is a great need for novel approaches to enhance bone repair in elderly patients. MicroRNAs play an important role in orchestrating age-related processes and in maintaining bone remodeling.
This process involved the removal of old bone by osteoclasts (bone resorption) and its replacement by new bone formed by osteoblasts (bone formation). These microRNAs are small RNA (ribonucleic acid) whose main role is to inhibit gene expression. The goal of this proposal is to enhance in vivo bone regeneration using microRNAs and biomaterials.
We propose to develop a new theme that aims to synchronize and better control the balance between scaffold-material resorption and new bone tissue formation, that are crucial aspects of tissue regeneration, and to produce new bone with excellent biomechanical properties.
We will focus our project on combining the effects of two microRNAs that are naturally co-expresses: miR-199, an activator of bone formation, and miR-214 that regulates bone resorption.
We will determine the most efficient miR-199/miR-214 combination.
We will seek to :
- describe the key actors involved in this new regulatory pathway;
- determine its modes of regulation and deregulation In aging in bone cells;
- identify effectors mainly in bone cells. Our goal is to be able to handle this complex regulatory system in the clinical purpose to (i) restore bone mass and balance formation/resorption during aging and (ii) propose ultimately new therapeutic strategies for bone repair.