Osteocyte-lacuna-canalicular network analysis in different mammalian and avian species.

Bone is constantly undergoing (re)modelling to adapt to external mechanical stimuli, which is carried out through mechanotransduction, involving the sensing of mechanical forces, the transformation and the transmission of the mechano-biochemical signal, which are not fully understood. Osteocytes are thought to be the main mechanoreceptive cell. When bone is compressed, fluid flow is induced, moving ions and waste towards and away from cells. The shape and orientation of the osteocytes within the bone yields information on the sensitivity of the bone to respond to mechanical stimuli. The ID19 beamline has previously been used to identify vasculature and osteocyte lacunae within murine bone. We would like to use a similar approach to analyze the osteocyte network in 3 species, BRTL mice with osteogenesis imperfecta, Sprague Dawley rats treated with an anabolic drug, and adolescent Lohmann Selected Leghorn Lite chickens prior to maturity.