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Selected Projects 2016-18
From the data, we did not detect our expected
differences in crosslinks or mechanical properties
between the Vitamin B6 treated group compared to
the non-treated group. This may be due to our small
sample size and/or the Vitamin B6 dose being too
low. Although we did not detect any differences from
the hypothesized inhibitory effects of Vitamin B6, we
did have other key findings:
• In vitro incubation with ribose does increase
AGEs (protein crosslinks) in human cortical bone.
• Indentation tests showed there were deteriorated
bone mechanical properties in a simulated
diabetic state.
• Bone specimens with higher crosslink contents
had weaker mechanical properties.
By continuing my work with the mechanical
engineering department, more mechanical testing
data was derived from the incubated cortical
beams. Specifically, we performed microindentation
tests on the samples to measure bone
stiffness.
We also carried out another incubation of cortical
beams to test the efficacy of different concentrations
of Vitamin B6 combined with the same
concentration of ribose. The small dose of Vitamin
B6 used in the previous incubation appeared to
have no effect on AGE inhibition so we decided to
increase this parameter. Vitamin B6 concentrations
of 0.5 mM and 5 mM were used due to their positive
effects seen in a previous study (Booth et al., 1997).
Since the 5 mM concentration shows promising
results it is important to verify this in future studies.
Therefore, the next step of this project is to confirm
the correct amount of Vitamin B6 through additional
incubations followed by mechanical testing, chemical
testing, and structural analysis. Specifically,
108
Diamond blade saw used to cut bone beams
Cortical beams treated with ribose (top) and cortical beams
treated with no ribose or vehicle group (bottom)