Bone neuro-mechanosignaling and inflammation: New players in diabetic osteopenia

Project Narrative Bone loss is a diabetic complication that leads to poor quality of life with increased risk for fractures. Proposed studies will establish the importance of bone neuro-mechanosignaling and inflammation as new players in diabetic osteopenia and identify novel and critical roles for the Panx1-P2X7R functional complex in regulation of bone adaptation in health and disease. If successful, these studies will advance our understanding of mechanisms that underlie the deleterious effects of diabetes in the bone and disclose novel therapeutic targets to treat skeletal dysfunction.