Metabolism and Local Environments in Development, Disease and Regeneration of the Skeleton

The skeleton is an organ composed of many tissues and with a variety of fundamental and vital functions. In the last few years, it has become increasingly clear that the metabolic pathways and local environments have a crucial role in the biology of the skeleton. Those new developments are opening exciting avenues for research. They may also lead to novel treatments of devastating conditions such as osteoporosis, osteopetrosis, bone cancer, and genetic disorders of the skeleton, as well as systemic pathologies, including the dysregulation of bioenergetic metabolism. The theme of our conference is “Metabolism and local environments in development, disease and regeneration of the skeleton”. Significant progress in the understanding of local communication among cells that form bone and maintain its integrity during the lifespan of the organism will be presented. Likewise, the interactions of bone cells with the other tissues constituting the skeleton, namely blood vessels, hematopoietic marrow, bone marrow fat, bone marrow stroma, and tendons will be examined. Lastly, the molecular and cellular mechanisms within the skeleton that integrate local interactions, bioenergetics metabolism and biomechanical forces will be discussed. The overall goal of the conference is to encourage the pursuit of new research directions and novel therapeutic approaches, as well as foster highly productive collaborations among top laboratories in the field.