Project Grant K99AR086291

The National Institutes of Health National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases awarded The General Hospital Corporation (Massachusetts General Hospital) $129,330 on September 15, 2026, under the Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.846) to investigate molecular and physiological regulation of mRNA trafficking and translation in osteocyte dendrites.

The project examines how osteocytes regulate gene and protein expression with spatiotemporal precision through localized mRNA transport and translation in dendritic projections. Specifically, the work tests whether mRNA trafficking and translation in osteocyte dendrites is regulated at the molecular level by zip code-targeting RNA-binding proteins and at the physiological level by mechanical loading. Aim 1 investigates how zip code sequences control translation, protein localization, and osteocyte gene expression under static and mechanically stimulated conditions. Aim 2 focuses on the regulation of dendrite-enriched mRNA. The research builds on prior findings that deletion of certain endogenous mRNA zip code sequences causes morphologic deficits in osteocytes, suggesting a novel mechanism by which osteocytes regulate dendrite morphology and osteocyte function in mechanosensation, bone remodeling, and maintenance of skeletal and systemic homeostasis.

Performance occurs in Boston, Massachusetts. The award period runs through August 31, 2028.