Characterisation of Bone and Bone Marrow Resident Tissue Macrophages (2017-2020)
Abstract
Resident tissue macrophages participate in bone and blood system (bone marrow) homeostasis and function and these organs are interdependent. The identities of the macrophage subsets involved and the molecular signatures underpinning their functional specialisation have not been elucidated. The project aims to fill this knowledge gap and then extend the associated molecular discoveries to investigate whether decline in the function of these specialized macrophages occurs during skeletal and blood system ageing. Both skeletal and blood system decline are major contributors to age-associated loss of productivity and paralleled decline in the resident macrophages in these organs may represent a common ageing mechanism.
