Abdulaziz Alkhalisi
Research Mentor(s): Megan Killian
Mentor Department: Michigan Medicine Orthopedic Surgery
Authors: Abdulaziz Alkhalisi and Megan L. Killian, PhD
Session: Session 5 (2:00pm – 2:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 114
Abstract
Joints play an essential role in vertebrate mobility and load bearing but often suffer from age-related degradation due to lifetime biomechanical stress. Understanding the morphological changes that joints undergo as they age is crucial for uncovering the driving factors behind degenerative joint diseases, like osteoarthritis, and developing effective and robust treatments. The zebrafish is a powerful model for studying joint morphogenesis, as its joints mature very similarly to humans in early stages of development and it exhibits similar age-related spinal deformities to those of osteoarthritis, indicating a potentially similar developmental degradation process in other joints, such as the jaw. Furthermore, previous findings indicate anisotropic growth orientation is the driving force in the early stages of zebrafish jaw joint morphogenesis, reiterating the importance of analyzing the dynamic between mechanical stress and spatial patterning.
We will use statistical shape modelling (SSM) to investigate how age-related lifetime mechanical stress influences the morphology of zebrafish jaw joints. SSM will allow us to quantify subtle morphological changes that occur in these jaw joints in response to mechanical stimuli over time. By applying SSM to a large population of zebrafish in different age groups, we are able to identify anatomical regions that are most susceptible to age-related degradation. We aim to demonstrate this by constructing a statistical model via principal component analysis (PCA) and correspondence techniques to extrapolate dominant modes of variation and identify local shape changes. By integrating SSM with current data on age-related joint deformations in zebrafish—such as osteophyte formation and cartilage erosion—we aim to determine whether similar morphogenic and degenerative signatures overlap in both spinal and jaw joints.
Our research has the potential to enhance our understanding of how biomechanical stimuli influence age-related morphology. By quantifying consistent shape changes and load-sensitive regions in zebrafish jaw joints that exhibit human-like joint degenerative processes, such as those in osteoarthritis, we may be able to discover therapeutic targets of joint degeneration that can aid in the development of new preventative and treatment modalities for such debilitating conditions.
