Research projects

As the world's ageing population increases, osteoporosis has become one of the most relevant degenerative pathologies, affecting mainly women. Each year it causes millions of euros in healthcare costs and current treatments, mainly antiresorptive, only slow down or halt the process, without resolving it, or preventing the appearance of related bone fractures, or recovering the initial condition. In this sense, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are possible candidates for application as cell therapy since, in addition to reducing inflammatory processes, they differentiate into bone lineage cells. In fact, there are already some clinical trials in various bone pathologies where these cells are being applied, but it has been observed that, among other problems, their capacity for osteogenic differentiation needs to be improved. Thus, thanks to the recent results of our group in which we have shown that EphB3 is a potent suppressor of osteogenic differentiation and that its absence in mice prevents the typical loss of bone mass associated with osteoporosis, in the present project we want to evaluate the therapeutic effects, at the bone level, of the absence of EphB3-mediated signaling in MSCs, and develop a new therapy against this degenerative pathology. Furthermore, using a preclinical murine model of partial bone fracture, we also aim to test whether the absence of EphB3 signaling accelerates bone regeneration, which would reduce the hospitalization time of patients.