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HEStaff exchange2023–2026

OSTEONET · In vitro 3D cell models of healthy and OSTEOpathological ageing bone tissue for implantation and drug testing in a multidisciplinary NETwork

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2023-01-01 → 2026-12-31
EU contribution
€1,467,400
Participants
16
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-SE

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

In vitro 3D cell models of healthy and OSTEOpathological ageing bone tissue for implantation and drug testing in a multidisciplinary NETwork

The project OSTEONET aims at developing a lab-scale model of human bone tissue, both mimicking the healthy and the osteoporotic bone, which can be used for basic physiology or pathology studies as well as serve as a model for pre-clinical drug-candidate screening. To reach this ambitious goal, expertise is needed in various fields of science and technology, such as biomedical engineering, cellular biology, fluid dynamics and microfluidics, electronics, AI. Indeed, nowadays there is a lack of lab-scale models of human tissues for all kinds of molecular medicine applications and animals (i.e. in vivo models) or 2D-cultured cells (so-called in vitro) are used instead. Both available in vivo and in vitro models are unsuitable for addressing specific quests: the former implies the usage of animal models, thereby more simple organisms as compared to the human body in addition to the ethical issues, the latter overlooking the complex three-dimensional architecture of human tissues thus, being unable to reliably model certain mechanisms, such as intercellular contacts. Moreover, human derived samples (e.g. from healthy donors or patients willing to help the research) are not easy to get in general, due to sample isolation, culture and ethics related issues too. To meet the urge of shifting the models-paradigm in biomedical research, the Consortium is developing an automated 3D-cell culture system, taking advantage of the bioreactor developed by Cellex (namely, BioAxFlow or BAF) that allows for 3D-cell culture upon scaffolds, i.e. mechanical supports similar to bone architecture, tailor-made for resembling either the healthy or the pathological condition (i.e. with different percentages of porosity: more porous scaffolds mimicking osteoarthritis and less porous mimicking the healthy condition). Hand-in-hand with a thorough choice of the most suitable cell line(s) that need to be used, computational modelling is helping by improving the performances of the cell culture process occurring within BAF (e.g. by predicting the fluid-dynamical behaviour of cell culture media) and software development, as well as AI, are being used for augmenting knowledge related to human bone tissue architecture and to transfer it to the scaffolds that are continuously being generated.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

OSTEONET aims to (i) build a multidisciplinary research network involving experts of technical and medical disciplines to merge their expertise and exploit possible synergies for the development of reliable and sustainable 3D in vitro cell models of healthy and aged bone tissue and (ii) train a cohort of scientists and technologists in exploiting the model features to increase knowledge on the effects of ageing on bone biology and mechanobiology, and on bone response to drugs, to leverage the use of 3D cell models in clinics and basic/industrial research labs.Bone ageing reduces the quality of life of the elderly and puts social and economic burden on society. Ageing bones fail more easily when challenged mechanically or with toxicants or pollutants, and respond differently to drugs than healthy bone. To personalize therapies and enable better preventive care for the elderly it is essential to develop reliable and sustainable in vitro models of aged bone tissue alternative to animal tests which often fail to capture human-specific features. Several scientific studies support the idea that in vitro models of bone tissue are an outstanding resource for (i) the comprehension of bone physiology, (ii) a better understanding of pathological pathways in most bone dysfunctions, (iii) testing new or repurposed drugs for bone treatment before preclinical trials with animal models.The networking activities planned in OSTEONET will unravel and share knowledge on the mechanisms driving the information transfer from the biochemical and biomechanical levels, which drive osteosynthesis and osseointegration, to the cascade of molecular and cellular events emerging as an elaborated and physiological bone, and on the mechanisms of the different response of healthy and aged bone tissue to mechano-biological stimuli and drugs.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • UNIVERSITA DELLA CALABRIA · ARCAVACATA DI RENDECoordinatorItaly
  • 7HC SOCIETA A RESPONSABILITA LIMITATA · ROMAItaly
  • AIFACTORY SP ZOO · GdańskPoland
  • ATHINA-EREVNITIKO KENTRO KAINOTOMIAS STIS TECHNOLOGIES TIS PLIROFORIAS, TON EPIKOINONION KAI TIS GNOSIS · MAROUSSIGreece
  • CELLEX SRL · RomaItaly
  • CONSORZIO DI RICERCA HYPATIA · GrottaferrataItaly
  • CTADVENTURE SPÓLKA Z OGRANICZONA ODPOWIEDZIALNOSCIA · GdanskPoland
  • EFIIS SISTEMIKI VIOLOGIA MONOPROSOPI IKE · PATRAGreece
  • ELVESYS · PARISFrance
  • LITHOZ GMBH · WienAustria
  • MEDIZINISCHE UNIVERSITAET WIEN · WienAustria
  • MICROFLUIDICS INNOVATION CENTER · PARISFrance
  • TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE MITTELHESSEN · GIESSENGermany
  • TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY · Tel AvivIsrael
  • UNIVERSITEIT GENT · GentBelgium
  • UNIVERSITETET I BERGEN · BergenNorway

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union