Research Overview
Bone Biology
Bone destruction commonly occurs in multiple rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and lupus. In our laboratory, we study the molecular mechanisms that control osteoclast differentiation and activation, the cells that are primarily responsible for bone resorption in rheumatic diseases. We are interested in a broad range of modulatory signals that include immune responses, autophagy, aging, as well as genetic and environmental signals.
IE Adamopoulos and ED Mellins. Alternative Pathways of Osteoclast Differentiation in Inflammatory Arthritis. Nature Rheumatology Reviews 2015 Mar;11(3):189-194 (doi: 10.1038/ PMID: 25422000).
Psoriatic Arthritis
Some of the mechanisms that regulate osteoclast differentiation are also influencing other cell types causing a systemic inflammation. This inflammation results to clinical manifestations that closely resemble psoriatic arthritis and we have developed animal models to study the pathogenetic mechanisms.
Ritchlin CT and Adamopoulos IE. New Dimensions in the Diagnosis, Science and Management of Axial Spondyloarthritis. The British Medical Journal (BMJ. 2021 Jan 4;372:m4447. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m4447).
