PORTLAND, Maine — Maine Medical Center researchers have received a $230,000 federal grant for innovative research that could have an effect on the treatment of osteoporosis and obesity.
Dr. Clifford Rosen, senior scientist at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute, says bone cells and fat cells come from one original cell line. He says whether they produce bone or fat depends on how the cells use the fuel that's available to them. Rosen says bone cells uses a lot of energy in the form of sugar while fat cells are fueled by fatty acids.
"We're trying to make those cells switch energy sources to become bone cell rather than fat cell or vice-versa," he says. "So we're doing it all by changing their fuel basically."
The grant announced today is from the National Institutes of Health.
