In Vitro Model for Bone Remodeling

Bone is a metabolically active organ that constantly renews through remodeling cycles. Bone remodeling is accomplished within numerous bone multicellular units (BMUs) that contain organised envelopes of bone cells, such as osteoblasts (OB) and osteoclasts (OC). In each cycle, the micro-damaged bone segments are resorbed by OC, and OB lays down the new bone. This process is tightly regulated by the spatiotemporal coordination of soluble cytokines and hormonal as biomechanical cues. Imbalanced remodeling processes could lead to bone diseases such as osteoporosis and osteopetrosis. The cellular and molecular mechanisms in a bone remodeling cycle are poorly understood due to the lack of appropriate experimental models.

We aim to establish a heterocellular 3D printed bone organoid model comprising all major bone cell types (osteoblasts, osteocytes, osteoclasts) to recapitulate bone remodeling units in an in vitro system. The organoids will be produced with human cells, as they could represent human pathophysiology better than animal models and eventually could replace them. These in vitro models could be used to advance next-generation personalised treatment strategies.