Meeting Abstract

S7.11  Tuesday, Jan. 6  Mechanical Regulation of Skeletal Healing MORGAN, EF*; SALISBURY PALOMARES, KT; MASON, ZD; LEONG, PL; HAYWARD, LNM; GLEASON, RE; BELLIN, D; Boston University efmorgan@bu.edu

An intimate relationship exists among the structure, mechanical function, and mechanical environment of skeletal tissues. The ability of these tissueswhich include bone, cartilage, tendon, and ligamentto withstand the forces placed upon them during activities of daily living is derived largely from their hierarchical, composite microstructure. Moreover, compelling evidence has continued to emerge that these tissues can respond to their mechanical environment through adaptive changes in structure and mechanical function. A powerful example of the close correspondence among structure, function, and mechanical cues in skeletal tissues is that of bone repair. Bone fracture healing involves a dynamic interplay of biological processes that ultimately restore form and function to injured bone. Our laboratory and others have demonstrated that altering the mechanical environment of a healing bone fracture can dramatically change the course of healing. These findings indicate that it may be possible to use mechanical stimulation not only to accelerate bone repair but also to promote repair and regeneration of other types of skeletal tissues. This talk will present our recent work on manipulating the mechanical environment of a healing bone defect in order to promote the formation of cartilaginous tissues that have many microstructural and molecular similarities to hyaline cartilage. Special emphasis will be given to the experiments that have sought to elucidate relationships between local mechanical stimuli and the micro- and macroscale structure of the healing tissues.