# The impact of Wnt signaling on hematopoietic stem cell aging and its influence on fracture repair

> **NIH NIH F31** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $41,567

## Abstract

The impact of Wnt signaling on hematopoietic stem cell aging and its influence on fracture repair
 Tuyet Nguyen
tuyet.nguyen@duke.edu
 Alman Laboratory
 Duke University
Abstract
 Age-related fractures are a current problem with a high mortality rate and, as the United States aged
population increases, will become a necessary problem to address in the near future. In order to find solutions
for this impending dilemma, it is crucial to understand how bone heals and how this process changes with age.
Under homeostatic conditions, bone health is maintained through dynamic relationships mediated in part by the
Wnt signaling pathway, especially so during a fracture injury. Wnt signaling is also a known regulator in
maintaining hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) quality, but the role that HSCs play during a fracture injury has not
been well explored. The bone marrow environment and the cells that make up the endosteal and perivascular
niches are known to be important for postnatal HSC maintenance. However, during a fracture injury, both niches
are disordered, and bone regeneration must proceed properly for the re-establishment of the microenvironment
to restore the proper cellular HSC regulatory mechanisms. Our lab and others have shown that Wnt signaling is
tightly regulated during the fracture healing process and that these signaling patterns become dysregulated with
age. Nonetheless, it remains unclear how fracture injury- and age-specific changes to the Wnt pathway affect
HSC differentiation and how this relationship in turn regulates fracture healing. This proposed work intends to
address the gap in understanding of how HSCs affect the bone fracture repair process to develop better targeted
therapeutics that best decrease fracture-related complications.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10894369
- **Project number:** 1F31AG084164-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Tuyet Doan Anh Nguyen
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $41,567
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10894369

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10894369, The impact of Wnt signaling on hematopoietic stem cell aging and its influence on fracture repair (1F31AG084164-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10894369. Licensed CC0.

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