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MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF BONE FORMATION AND ANABOLISM

Objective

Osteoporotic fractures are a major healthcare problem in Europe and this is set to increase as the proportion of the elderly individuals in the population expands. Osteoporosis can be treated by drugs that inhibit bone résorption, but these do not restore normal skeletal strength and are incompletely effective at preventing fractures. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop new treatments for osteoporosis that stimulate bone formation. Such treatments would offer the prospect of greater efficacy by reversing the structural abnormalities of bone in established osteoporosis. This proposal will advance understanding of the mechanisms responsible for bone formation, with the long-term aim of harnessing this knowledge to develop new anabolic agents for osteoporosis. These aims will be achieved by drawing leading European academic research groups together with SME's working in bone metabolism to define the mechanisms of bone formation and uncover pathways that can be targeted for therapeutic intervention. We will define downstream effectors of molecules which regulate bone formation in mice and define signalling pathways that are activated in human genetic diseases characterised by increased bone formation. The mechanisms of action for drugs with known anabolic effects will be investigated and novel genes which regulate bone formation uncovered by END mutagenesis and genetic mapping in mice. Finally, a technology based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) will be developed to study anabolic effects in osteoblasts in response to mechanical force and anabolic agents. The proposal will lead to a greater understanding of how bone formation is regulated and will underpin the development of new therapeutic strategies for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis'.

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Call for proposal

FP6-2002-LIFESCIHEALTH
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Funding Scheme

STREP - Specific Targeted Research Project

Coordinator

THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
Address
Old college, south bridge
Edinburgh
United Kingdom

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Last update: 26 March 2013

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Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/503020

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