# Osteoprogenitor mobilization for bone development and repair

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $345,379

## Abstract

Abstract
Large bone defects caused by traumatic injury or tumor resection pose a significant clinical challenge as they
cannot not heal without intervention, and current bone grafting therapies are limited. Tissue engineering is a
promising alternative, but is often limited by poor recruitment or supply of endogenous progenitor cells. Unlike
large defects, bone fractures heal readily by recapitulating the steps of bone development. In fracture repair,
mechanical cues, in the form of interfragmentary strains, are essential to determine the pathway by which bone
formation occurs, namely direct bone formation through intramembranous ossification or indirect bone
formation through endochondral ossification, in which a cartilage template forms first and is later replaced by
bone. The mechanisms by which osteoprogenitor cells are mobilized during bone development and how
mechanical cues direct fracture repair are poorly understood. We observed combinatorial roles of the
mechanosensitive transcriptional co-activators, Yes-associated protein (YAP) and Transcriptional co-activator
with PDZ-motif (TAZ) in promoting both bone development and repair. The goal of this application is to define
the mechanistic roles of YAP/TAZ in osteoprogenitor cell mobilization during bone development and
mechanical load-mediated fracture repair. Accomplishing this goal will provide new insights into developmental
bone diseases, identify pathways that could be exploited to enhance healing, and position us to design new
tissue engineering strategies that recapitulate the processes of bone development and natural repair for
regeneration of large bone defects.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9898321
- **Project number:** 5R01AR073809-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Joel D Boerckel
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $345,379
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9898321

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9898321, Osteoprogenitor mobilization for bone development and repair (5R01AR073809-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9898321. Licensed CC0.

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