2014 ECTS NEW INVESTIGATOR AWARD

Daniela M Sousa has been awarded by the European Calcified Tissue Society (ECTS) an ECTS New Investigator award in recognition of outstanding work presented during ECTS 2014 Prague: 41st Annual Congress (17-20 May 2014, Prague, Czech Republic)

Title: The role of Neuropeptide Y Y1 receptor signalling in fracture healing Authors: Daniela M Sousa, Michelle M McDonald, Kathy Mikulec, Lauren Peacock, David G Little, Herbert Herzog, Meriem Lamghari, Paul A Baldock"

"Our group have previously shown that the pharmacological blockade of Y1 receptors led to pronounced anabolic effects in bone metabolism, which suggested that an anti-Y1 receptor drug therapy might have clinical applications for the prevention/recovery of bone loss occurring in osteoporosis.
Nevertheless, given the high fracture incidence in this target population we have first evaluated the role of Y1 receptor signalling in bone regeneration, using germline and osteoblast-specific Y1 receptor knockout models, in a murine model of tibial fracture (in collaboration with the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the Children’s Hospital in Westmead, in Australia).

The process of fracture repair evaluated by X-ray, micro-CT and histomorphometric analyses revealed that the Y1 receptor global deletion delays the early stages of bone fracture bridging, without inhibiting the completion of healing to union. And it was not mediated by the osteoblast-specific Y1 receptors. The knowledge acquired will be important for the design of novel pharmacologic Y1 receptor-based therapeutic approaches for bone related-disorders."

More info at: http://www.ectsoc.org