Section C Project C05

Defining the role of osteomorphs in inflammatory bone loss

Recently, the osteoclast life-cycle has been revisited proposing that osteoclastogenesis is not a one-way street, but that so-called osteomorphs fission from parent resorbing osteoclasts to re-circulate and form new osteoclasts elsewhere (McDonald, et al., 2021), which may explain rapid rebound of bone resorption after denosumab use. How osteomorph genesis and recycling is affected during inflammation or after glucocorticoid treatment is unknown. C05 will characterize osteomorph biology during inflammation (e.g. TNF) and glucocorticoid treatment, address, how they contribute to bone loss, and define metabolic pathways (e.g., glycolysis, TCA cycle and mitochondrial respiration) that control osteomorphs.