Funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) could lead to the development of new and better treatments for broken bones and other orthopaedic problems associated with ageing.
Nearly £4M has been awarded to scientists from the universities of Keele, Imperial College London, Nottingham and Southampton and who will work together combining stem cell science and tissue engineering to look at the development and repair of human skeletal tissue.
Fractures, bone loss due to trauma or disease and other orthopaedic conditions pose a significant clinical and socioeconomic problem, especially with an aging population, but as yet there is no large scale effective treatment for replacing or repairing damaged bones.
Professor Richard Oreffo, from the University of Southampton who is leading the study, said: "Despite intense research, significant challenges for the reconstruction of tissues such as bone remain. Bone and cartilage tissue repair is a highly complex development process. A key requirement for these regeneration strategies to succeed remains our ability to understand skeletal cell activity, develop appropriate scaffolds and to understand how the environment the cells find themselves in affects their ability to interact with other cells to form new bone or cartilage."
Over the next five years, the scientists will combine their expertise in skeletal stem cells, scaffolds and materials chemistry to identify the key growth factors, matrix proteins and physical conditions that will enhance tissue regeneration and ultimately lead to more effective skeletal repair strategies.