Bone strength is maintained by the balanced activity of 2 cell types, i.e. bone-forming osteoblast and bone-resorbing osteoclast cells. The osteocytes are the main mechanosensing bone cells that detect whole tissue mechanical loading due to their unique distribution throughout the mineralised matrix and their connection to the neighbouring osteocytes and osteoblasts via gap junctions. Bone cells are bathed in a feeding interstitial fluid. Physical activity creates high-pressure regions in bones, which expel this interstitial fluid to low pressure sites. These high pressure and fluid movements are mechanical factors that may be positive regulators of bone-forming cells. This project aims at analysing mechanosignalling of bone-forming osteocytes- osteoblast cells by developing and applying novel micro- and nanotechnological techniques.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is currently the most common, lethal genetic disorder among the Caucasian population. Patients with CF are very susceptible to bacterial chronic airway infections such as S. maltophilia. Treatment with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin leads to the production of three distinct populations of MVs: the classic outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), larger vesicles containing both inner and outer membrane (so called inner-outer membrane vesicles (IOMVs)), and IOMVs that are enriched with fimbriae. This project aims to further structurally characterise the OMVs.