# Gut microbial factors that increase bone tissue strength

> **NIH NIH F32** · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $67,174

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Age-related fragility fractures impose healthcare costs exceeding $25 billion annually in the United States. Risk
of fragility fracture is due to both decreased bone mineral density (bone quantity) and bone tissue quality.
Current therapeutics for osteoporosis are effective at increasing bone quantity but do not directly address
aspects of bone tissue quality (the contents and organization of the bone matrix). Several studies have recently
discovered a link between the composition of the gut microbiome and bone strength. Previous work from the
sponsor’s group has demonstrated that perturbations to the constituents of the gut microbiome can impair
bone tissue material properties. A more recent, unexpected, and exciting finding demonstrated that specific
alterations of the composition of the gut microbiome increased the strength of the bone matrix. Prior work
generated a list of microbial taxa that had an increased abundance in animals with enhanced bone tissue
strength relative to unaltered controls. Nevertheless, the specific species and functional capacity of the
bacteria contributing to the increased bone strength remain to be elucidated. Additionally, prior studies
manipulating the components of the gut microbiota were predominantly completed in young, male mice. Since
interventions to prevent fragility fractures are most likely applied to older adults, it is critical to determine if the
same alterations in the gut microbiota can influence bone tissue strength in aged animals of both sexes. This
proposal addresses the following questions: what are the taxonomic and functional constituents of the
microbiota responsible for increasing bone tissue strength in mice; and is it possible to increase the strength of
the bone matrix by altering the gut microbiota in late adulthood? The specific aims are to 1) isolate gut
microbial constituents contributing to increased bone tissue strength in young mice and 2) determine the
effects of modifying the gut microbiota to increase bone tissue strength in aged mice. The overarching goal of
the proposal is to isolate and characterize constituents of the gut microbiota that enhance bone tissue strength
and quality in growing and aged mice. Research from this proposal builds upon prior findings from the
sponsor’s group while enabling the candidate to transition to an independent investigator by gaining expertise
in in vivo models and microbiome metagenomic analysis. The long-term goal of the candidate is to pursue a
career developing delivery systems/biomaterials that regulate the constituents of the microbiome for
applications such as musculoskeletal disorders and aging. Development of biomaterials that regulate the
microbiota requires knowledge of taxonomic and metagenomic analysis of microbiota in in vivo models.
Therefore, this application is to fund training in in vivo experimentation and manipulation of the gut microbiome
while increasing expertise orthopaedic research. Training ac...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10537826
- **Project number:** 1F32AG076244-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** CORNELL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Erika Leah Cyphert
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $67,174
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10537826

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10537826, Gut microbial factors that increase bone tissue strength (1F32AG076244-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10537826. Licensed CC0.

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