The University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry was awarded a National Institutes of Health grant that may lead to the identification of new approaches to prevent bone loss in diseases such as osteoporosis.
The research is relevant to public health because it investigates a newly discovered mechanism by which bone cells might signal — talk — to each other by releasing small membrane-bound particles called vesicles, which are packed with molecules that alter the behavior of a recipient cell that takes up the vesicles.
By gaining a better understanding of how these vesicles work, we will have a better understanding of how bone mass is maintained, said Sarah Dallas, endowed professor at the UMKC School of Dentistry and principal investigator on the $377,312 two-year grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.