Bone Research Group

Bone Research Group

The primary aim of the bone research group is to study the biology and pathophysiology of bone. Within this scope a special focus is laid on osteoimmunology – a new and very promising research field bridging the areas of osteology and immunology. Since osteoporosis, the most frequent metabolic bone disease, is an age related and gender specific disease, another important task of our group is to determine the impact of gender and aging on bone pathobiology.

Specific research questions include:

* Relation of bone strength to gene expression; genetics of bone fragility
* Microarchitecture of bone in female versus male osteoporosis
* Transgenic and other animal models for the study of bone diseases
* Immune cells and cytokines in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis in women and men
* Impact of inflammation on the generation and function of osteoblasts and osteoclasts
* Inflammaging and bone fragility
* Effects of vitamin D in the immune system