David W. Rowe

The primary focus of the laboratory is to recognize and ultimately isolate subpopulations of cells at define levels of differentiation within the skeletal lineage for bone, articular cartilage, temporal mandibular cartilage and tendon. This goal has been made possible by the construction of a series of mice transgenic for promoter-GFP reporter genes that activate at defined levels of differentiation. Fluorescent microscopic methods have been developed to observed lineage progression in real time in culture and in adult skeletal tissues with specific reference to murine models of skeletal tissue repair. The goal is to极 map where a mutation acts to impede forward progress of cell development and to correlate its in vivo impact within intact mouse bone. In addition, the models for evaluating progenitor activity have been adapted to human derived cells from either adult or hES/iPS sources. Particular attention is directed in multiplexing various colors of GFP and fluorescent cellular stains to maximize the information available within a histological section of mineralized tissues. We participate regularly with members of the Computer Science department at Storrs to develop advanced image analysis of skeletal images and new approaches for interpreting microarray and chromatin immunoprecipitation studies. Current projects that utilize this experimental approach include: a) microarray analysis of genes expressed in FAC isolated subpopulations within the osteoblast, chondrogenic and tendon lineage; b) development of models of skeletal repair to test the progenitor potential of various stem cell sources and scaffolds used to contain the cell within the defect zone; c) development of efficient fluorescent imaging techniques for skeletal tissues and application of image analysis techniques for automating incremental differences in skeletal repair; d) animal models of osteogenesis imperfecta to evaluate strategies of gene correction and cell replacement. Graduate students will be exposed to techniques of DNA cloning and BAC recombineering, cell culture of primary progenitor cells from adult animals and ES/iPS cells from human sources, hybridization and NGS sequence based microarray analysis of RNA, histological assessment of the osteoblast lineage and management and极 analysis of murine models of human disease including skeletal极 repair and tissue engineering.

[2026 Jun] Porphyromonas gingivalis lipids enhance RANKL-mediated osteoclast formation. [2025 May] Alpha-smooth muscle actin-expressing dermal sheath cells are a major cellular contributor to heterotopic subcutaneous ossifications in a mouse model of Albright hereditary osteodystrophy. [2024 Oct] vSPACE: exploring virtual spatial representation of articular chondrocytes at the single-cell level. [2024 Sep] Tricolor Transgenic Murine Model for Studying Growth Plate Injury. [2023 Dec] Modeling of intramembranous ossification using human pluripotent stem cell-derived paraxial mesoderm derivatives. [2023 Mar] Stem cell-based modeling and single-cell multiomics reveal gene-regulatory mechanisms underlying极 human skeletal development. [2023 Feb] Ultrasound-derived mechanical stimulation of cell-