Bone and Muscle Cell Biology

The Laboratory for Bone and Muscle Cell Biology studies the regulation of differentiation and activity of cells of the musculoskeletal system.

We are interested in understanding regulation of the behaviour of bone, cartilage and muscle cells during development, regeneration and pathology, with particular emphasis on the roles of proteases and extracellular matrix.

Current projects

The role of protease-activated receptors in the pathophysiology of muscular dystrophy, periodontitis-associated bone loss and prostate cancer metastasis to bone
Regulation of mesenchymal stem cell fate by protease-activated receptors
The role of osteopontin in muscle regeneration
Morphological diversity of chondrocytes in growth cartilage
Bone health in dairy animals
Bone microstructure and turnover in athletic horses (as part of the Equine Orthopaedic Research Group)

Research Group Contacts

Professor Eleanor Mackie
Title: Professor in Veterinary Preclinical Sciences
Email: ejmackie@unimelb.edu.au
Ph: +61 3 8344 7360
Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences - University of Melbourne

Dr Charles Pagel
Title: Senior Lecturer (Agricultural Molecular Sciences)
Email: cpagel@unimelb.edu.au
Ph: +61 3 8344 7362
Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences - University of Melbourne

Researchers

Mrs Liliana Tatarczuch - Electron Microscopist
Dr Babatunde Ayodele – Research Fellow (Musculoskeletal Biology)
Dr Reza Sanaei - Lecturer (Veterinary Biosciences)

Research Students

Aisha Tarar
Megan Thomas

Next : Research

Recent publications by group members include:

Whitton, R.C., Ayodele, B.A., Hitchens, P.L. and Mackie, E.J. (2018) ‘Accumulation of microdamage in the subchondral bone of the distal metacarpus of Thoroughbred racehorses.’ Equine Vet J DOI: 10.1111/evj.12948.
Amery-Gale, J., Devin, J.M., Tatarczuch, L., Taggart, D.A., Schultz, D.J., Charles, J.A. and Beveridge, I. (2018) ‘Eimeria taggarti N. Sp., a novel coccidian (Apicomplexa: Eimeriorina) in the prostate of an Antechinus flavipes.’ J. Parasitol. 104:31-38.
Bani-Hassan, E., Mirams, M., Mackie, E.J. and Whitton, R.C. (2017) ‘Prevalence of macroscopic and microscopic subchondral bone pathological changes in the distal metacarpi/metatarsi of racing Thoroughbred horses presenting for post-mortem examination’. Aust. Vet. J. 95:362-369.
Ayodele, B.A., Mirams, M., Pagel, C.N. and Mackie, E.J. (2017) ‘The vacuolar H+ ATPase V0 subunit d2 is associated with chondrocyte hypertrophy and supports chondrocyte differentiation.’ Bone Reports 7:98-107.
Francis, N., Every, A.L., Ayodele, B.A., Pike, R.N., Mackie, E.J. and Pagel, C.N. (2017) ‘A T cell-specific knockout reveals an important role for protease-activated receptor 2 in lymphocyte development.’ Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 92:95-103.
Bani-Hassan, E., Mirams, M., Ghasem-Zadeh, A., Mackie, E.J. and Whitton, R.C. (2016) ‘Role of subchondral bone remodeling in collapse of the articular surface of Thoroughbred racehorses with palmar osteochondral disease.’ Equine Vet. J. 48:228-233.
Mirams, M., Ayodele, B.A., Tatarczuch, L., Henson, F.M., Pagel, C.N. and Mackie, E.J. (2016) ‘Identification of novel osteochondrosis-associated genes.’ J. Orthop. Res. 34:404-411.
Scheelings, T.F. McLaren, P.J., Tatarczuch, L. and Slocombe, R.F. (2016) ‘Plasmodiium infection in a Leadbeater’s possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri).’ Aust. Vet. J. 94:299-303.
Tonna, S., Poulton, I.J., Takyar, F.M., Ho, P.W.M., Tonkin, B., Crimeen-Irwin, B., Tatarczuch, L., McGregor, N.E., Mackie, E.J., Martin, T.J. and Sims, N.A. (2016) ‘Osx1Cre-expressing cells, including chondrocytes, require Ephrin B2 to promote cartilage destruction during endochondral ossification.’ Development 143: 648-657.
Petty, S.J., Milligan, C.J., Todaro, M., Richards, K.L., Kularathna, P.K., Pagel, C.N., French, C.R., Hill-Yardin, E.L., O’Brien, T.J., Wark, J.D., Mackie, E.J. and Petrou, S. (2016) ‘The anti-epileptic medications carbamazepine and phenytoin inhibit native sodium currents in murine osteoblasts’ Epilepsia 57:1398-1405.
Kaffashi, A., Pagel, C.N., Noormohammadi, A.H. and Browning, G.F. (2015) ‘Evidence of apoptosis induced by viral protein 2 of chicken anaemia virus.’ Arch. Virol. 160:2557-2563.
Trope, G.D., Ghasem-Zadeh, A., Anderson, G.A., Mackie, E.J. and Whitton, R.C. (2015) ‘Can high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) imaging of subchondral and cortical bone predict condylar fracture in Thoroughbred racehorses?’ Equine Vet. J. 47:428-432.
Stent, A., Gosbell, M, Tatarczuch, L. and Summers, B.A. (2015) ‘Giant axonal neuropathy-like disease in an Alexandrine parrot (Psittacula eupatria)’. J. Vet. Diagn. Invest. 27:611-615.
Stalder, K., Vaz, P.K., Gilkerson, J.R., Baker, R. Whiteley, P., Ficorilli, N., Tatarczuch, L., Portas, T., Skogvold, K., Anderson, G.A. and Devlin, J.M. (2015) ‘Prevalence and clinical significance of herpesvirus infection in populations of Australian marsupials’. PLoS One 10:e0133807.
Pagel, C.N., Wasgewatte Wijesinghe, D.K., Taghavi Esfandouni, N. and Mackie, E.J. (2014) Osteopontin, inflammation and myogenesis: ‘Influencing regeneration, fibrosis and size of skeletal muscle.’ J. Cell Commun. Signal. 8:95-103.
Sitparan, K., Pagel, C.N., Pinniger, G.J., Yoo, H.J., Mackie, E.J. and Bakker, A.J. (2014) ‘The contractile properties of slow and fast skeletal muscles from protease-activated receptor-1 null mice’. Muscle Nerve 50:991-998.
Tonna, S., Takyar, F.M., Vrahnas, C., Crimeen-Irwin, B., Ho, P.W.M., Poulton, I.J., Brennan, H.J., McGregor, N.E., Allan, E.H., Nguyen, H., Forwood, M.R., Tatarczuch, L., Mackie, E.J., Martin, T.J. and Sims, N. A. (2014) ‘Ephrin B2 signaling in osteoblasts promotes bone mineralization by preventing apoptosis’. FASEB J. 28:4482-96.
Amery-Gale, J., Vaz, P.K., Whiteley, P., Tatarczuch, L., Taggart, D.A., Charles, J.A., Schultz, D., Ficorilli, N.P., Devin, J.M., Wilks, C.R. (2014) ‘Detection and identification of a gammaherpesvirus in Antechinus spp. In Australia.’ J. Wildl. Dis. 50:334-339.
Holmes, J.M., Mirams, M., Mackie, E.J. and Whitton, R.C. (2014) ‘Thoroughbred horses in race training have lower levels of subchondral bone remodelling in highly loaded regions of the distal metacarpus compared to horses resting from training.’ Vet. J. 202:443-447.
Hagen, J., Young, N.D., Every, A.L., Pagel, C.N., Schnoeller, C., Scheerlinck, J.P., Gasser, R.B. and Kalinna, B.H. (2014) ‘Omega-1 knockdown in Schistosoma mansoni eggs by lentivirus transduction reduces granuloma size in vivo.’ Nat. Commun. 5:5375.
Kularathna, P.K., Pagel, C.N. and Mackie, E.J. (2014) ‘Tumour progression and cancer-induced pain: A role for protease-activated receptor-2?’ Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol. 57:149-156.
Hunt, L.C., Gorman, C., Kintakis, C., McCulloch, D.R., Mackie, E.J. and White, J.D. (2013) ‘Hyaluronan synthesis and myogenesis: a requirement for hyaluronan synthesis during myogenic differentiation independent of pericellular matrix formation’. J. Biol. Chem. 288:13006-13021
Sivagurunathan, S., Pagel, C.N., Loh, L.H., Pike, R.N. and Mackie, E.J. (2013) ‘Thrombin inhibits osteoclast differentiation through a non-proteolytic mechanism’. J. Molec. Endocrinol. 50:347-359
Whitton, R.C., Mirams, M., Mackie, E.J., Anderson, G.A. and Seeman, E. (2013) ‘Exercise-induced inhibition of remodeling is focally offset with fatigue fracture in racehorses’. Osteoporos. Int. 24:2043-2048.
Gamvrellis, A., Walsh, K., Tatarczuch, L., Smooker, P., Plebanski, M. and Scheerlinck, J.P. (2013) ‘Phenotypic analysis of ovine antigen presenting cells loaded with nanoparticles micrating from the site of vaccination.’ Methods 60:257-263.
Uaesoontrachoon, K., Wasgewatte Wijesinghe, D.K., Mackie, E.J. and Pagel, C. N. (2013) ‘Osteopontin deficiency delays inflammatory infiltration and the onset of muscle regeneration in a mouse model of muscle injury’. Dis. Model. Mech. 6:197-205.