Marie Lagerquist

Project summary

Oestrogen and bone mass

Reduced bone mass increases the risk of fractures, resulting in greater suffering for patients and higher costs to society. Inflammation is associated with increased bone loss and, consequently, a higher risk of fractures. Oestrogen protects against fractures, but is considered unsuitable as a treatment for low bone mass because of its serious side effects.

 

The aim of the project is to characterise the mechanisms underlying the bone-protective effects of oestrogen, thereby facilitating the development of new “oestrogen-like” drugs without the adverse side effects. The project will develop and use new transgenic mouse models to determine the importance of different parts of the oestrogen receptor for its bone-protective effects and to identify the cell types that mediate these effects. Our important scientific finding that oestrogen signalling in the nervous system affects bone mass will be investigated further by selectively disrupting oestrogen signalling in specific regions of the brain using viral vectors.

 

Greater knowledge and understanding of how oestrogen protects against inflammation-induced bone loss may facilitate the development of new treatment options. The research is conducted at the Centre for Bone and Arthritis Research, which brings together researchers working to prevent, diagnose and treat osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The aim is to conduct high-quality, clinically relevant research that can contribute to the development of new drugs for bone loss caused by increased inflammation. Another important objective is to train early-career researchers within the group and provide them with opportunities to become future research leaders.