Research into bone loss linked to spaceflight and aging receives $3M NIH grant

By Nya Farmer

With support from a five-year, $3 million grant, Virginia Commonwealth University researchers will lead a study on genetic factors that may influence bone loss associated with spaceflight, disuse and aging.

Henry Donahue, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the VCU College of Engineering, will serve as principal investigator and is joined by Joshua Cohen, M.D., a research associate professor in the department, and Charles Farber, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Virginia, on the team. The grant was awarded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Donahue said the research will center on a common theory that has resulted from NASA studies that space travel accelerates aging. Undergraduate students will work with graduate students and postdoctoral researchers on experiments assessing bone structure and function, utilizing micro-CT imaging, bioinformatics and tests of bone strength. The hands-on experience will introduce students to research with potential applications in health care and spaceflight.

"Our hope is that identifying the mechanisms underlying disuse-induced bone loss will suggest therapeutic targets for space travel-induced and aging-induced bone loss, since all three of these conditions, disuse, space travel and aging, result in similar bone loss," Donahue said.

Researchers will study how genetic differences influence bone loss in response to disuse. Students will help analyze micro-CT images of bone structure and how this is influenced by genetic background. The team hopes to identify genes that may protect against bone loss or worsen it, potentially revealing targets for future treatments.

"We hope in completing this study we'll be able to identify genes that either protect against disuse-induced bone loss or make disuse-induced bone loss worse," Donahue said.

The findings may also be relevant to low-gravity environments. Donahue said researchers have theorized that space travel may accelerate aging. This project focuses on bone, where spaceflight-related bone loss shares similarities with age-related and disuse-related bone loss. The results could inform future efforts to protect astronauts' bone health and contribute more broadly to research on prevention and treatments that help preserve mobility.

This story was originally published on the College of Engineering website.