Growth Plate Regeneration In Vivo
Grant Recipient: R Tracy Ballock, MD
- Institution:
- Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic
- Presentations & Publications:
- The Huene Award was focused on studying the potential of growth plate regeneration in vivo and the mechanisms of growth plate column formation in vitro. Regenerated growth plate tissue has the potential to revolutionize the field of pediatric orthopedics as a treatment option for serious growth plate injuries. The data generated through the Huene Award demonstrate that in vitro environments are sufficient for growth plate chondrocytes to stack and form oriented columns if the appropriate molecular signals are present, and show for the first time that activation of the Wnt PCP pathway is sufficient to initiate column formation of growth plate chondrocytes in this pellet culture model. This represents a significant step toward understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating column formation in the mammalian growth plate, which is a prerequisite for successful engineering of functional growth plate tissue. The studies made possible by the Huene Award have directly resulted in the awarding of two subsequent grants to Dr. Ballock’s laboratory, a two-year Established Investigator Award from the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation and a two-year Exploratory Research Development Grant (R21) from the National Institutes of Health.
