Henry J. Donahue, Ph.D.

Alice T. and William H. Goodwin, Jr. Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering; BS, San Diego State University; Ph.D. UC Santa Barbara

  • Richmond VA UNITED STATES
  • Engineering Research Building ERB 4312
hjdonahue@vcu.edu

Bone, mechanobiology, regenerative medicine, effects of space travel on bone and muscle, gap junctions, osteoblast, osteocyte, osteoclast

Contact

Media

Biography

Dr. Donahue is Eminent Scholar and Alice T. and William H. Goodwin, Jr. Endowed Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. He has nearly 30 years of experience studying musculoskeletal biology, using both in vitro and in vivo models. His research focuses on understanding the mechanism by which bone and muscle adapt to their mechanical environment; examining the effects of space flight on musculoskeletal tissues and exploiting biophysical signals, including shear stress and nanotopography, to develop innovative strategies to regenerate musculoskeletal tissue lost to disease, injury or ageing. His research has been continually funded by the National Institutes of Health for over 30 years and he has also had funding from the Department of Defense, NASA/National Space Biology Research Institute, private foundations and industry. In 2017 he received the Orthopaedic Research Society Outstanding Achievement in Mentoring Award. Dr. Donahue is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and the Orthopaedic Research Society.

Industry Expertise

Research
Education/Learning

Areas of Expertise

Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering
Musculoskeletal Mechanobiology
Space Biology and Bioengineering

Accomplishments

Fellow, American Institute of Mechanical and Biological Engineering

2016

Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

2018

Fellow, American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR)

2019

Show All +

Education

Mayo Graduate School of Medicine

Postdoctoral Fellowship

Endocrinology

University of California Santa Barbara

Ph.D.

Biology

University of California Santa Barbara

M.A.

Biology

Show All +

Media Appearances

Study: Space Radiation Only Affecting Astronauts Bones, Not Muscle

National Daily Press  online

2017-12-18

A new study revealed that the space radiation to which that astronauts are exposed during prolonged missions has a lesser impact on their muscle but bones are still affected. Researchers found that the mix of radiation and microgravity can lead to significant bone loss in space travelers.

Past studies have suggested that radiation could be behind both muscle and bone loss in microgravity. However, the latest research has just proven that the theory may not be entirely accurate.

A group of scientists at the VCU School of Engineering were able to simulate space conditions and found that radiation does not lead to muscle loss, but it can spur bone loss in the long run.

Lead author Henry J Donahue, PhD explained that bones need to be stimulated to build more density. In microgravity, there’s little to no stimulation, so there’s no need to get stronger bones. In other words, in space, the body won’t deploy resources to build bones.

The research team analyzed mice’s bone and muscle health in microgravity conditions. The animals’ movements were restricted. Another group of mice were exposed to space radiation.

View More

Space radiation might cause bone loss in astronauts

ZME Science  online

2017-12-18

Astronauts living aboard the International Space Station may experience bone and muscle loss due to the combined effects of microgravity and radiation, scientists report. The findings have important implications for how NASA engineers plan on mitigating the effects of radiation for upcoming deep-space missions such as a manned trip to Mars.
Like muscles, bone is a dynamic tissue which adapts to demand. If there’s frequently increased load, bones will grow bigger to meet this demand. In a weightless environment, however, muscles will atrophy and bones will lose density. What’s more, radiation also seems to play a role in bone density loss but not in muscle atrophy, a recent study funded by NASA informs.

Researchers led by Henry Donahue from Virginia Commonwealth University studied mice whose movements were restricted, thereby simulating microgravity. Another group of mice were left to roam freely while being exposed to radiation of the kind experienced in space.

While the microgravity conditions led to both muscle and bone loss, radiation alone could only produce bone loss.

“Radiation plus microgravity amplifies the negative effect of microgravity on bone, but does not affect muscle loss,” Donahue said in a statement. “It’s as if exposure to radiation itself doesn’t affect bone, but it makes it more sensitive to the negative effects of microgravity.”

View More

Space Radiation May Increase Bone Loss In Astronauts [STUDY]

Value Walk  online

2017-12-18

New research suggests that space radiation may cause bone loss in astronauts.

While it’s important to have astronauts in space for both research and exploration, it turns out that there may be a number of negative side effects from living in space for an extended period of time. New research, published in PLOS ONE and reported on by ZME Science, suggests that astronauts living on the International Space Station may experience both bone and muscle loss due to microgravity and space radiation. This new knowledge has important implications, as it may change how NASA engineers approach the issues surrounding extended trips in outer space. Upcoming deep-space missions such as a manned trip to Mars will rely on finding solutions to problems such as the fact that this space radiation may increase bone loss.

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University, led by Henry Donahue, studied mice who were restricted in a simulation of microgravity. Another group of mice was allowed to roam freely while exposed to radiation similar to that encountered in space.

In a recent statement, Donahue revealed the results of the experiment.

“Radiation plus microgravity amplifies the negative effect of microgravity on bone, but does not affect muscle loss…It’s as if exposure to radiation itself doesn’t affect bone, but it makes it more sensitive to the negative effects of microgravity.”

View More

Show All +

Selected Articles

Time course of peri-implant bone regeneration around loaded and unloaded implants in a rat model.

Journal of orthopaedic research

2016

The time-course of cancellous bone regeneration surrounding mechanically loaded implants affects implant fixation, and is relevant to determining optimal rehabilitation protocols following orthopaedic surgeries. We investigated the influence of controlled mechanical loading of titanium-coated polyether-ether ketone (PEEK) implants on osseointegration using time-lapsed, non-invasive, in vivo micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scans. Implants were inserted into proximal tibial metaphyses of both limbs of eight female Sprague-Dawley rats. External cyclic loading (60 or 100 μm displacement, 1 Hz, 60 s) was applied every other day for 14 days to one implant in each rat, while implants in contralateral limbs served as the unloaded controls. Hind limbs were imaged with high-resolution micro-CT (12.5 μm voxel size) at 2, 5, 9, and 12 days post-surgery. Trabecular changes over time were detected by 3D image registration allowing for measurements of bone-formation rate (BFR) and bone-resorption rate (BRR). At day 9, mean %BV/TV for loaded and unloaded limbs were 35.5 ± 10.0% and 37.2 ± 10.0%, respectively, and demonstrated significant increases in bone volume compared to day 2. BRR increased significantly after day 9. No significant differences between bone volumes, BFR, and BRR were detected due to implant loading. Although not reaching significance (p = 0.16), an average 119% increase in pull-out strength was measured in the loaded implants.

View more

Biomimetic substrate control of cellular mechanotransduction

Biomaterials research

2016

Extracellular mechanophysical signals from both static substrate cue and dynamic mechanical loading have strong potential to regulate cell functions. Most of the studies have adopted either static or dynamic cue and shown that each cue can regulate cell adhesion, spreading, migration, proliferation, lineage commitment, and differentiation. However, there is limited information on the integrative control of cell functions by the static and dynamic mechanophysical signals. For example, a majority of dynamic loading studies have tested mechanical stimulation of cells utilizing cultures on flat surfaces without any surface modification. While these approaches have provided significant information on cell mechanotransduction, obtained outcomes may not correctly recapitulate complex cellular mechanosensing milieus in vivo. Several pioneering studies documented cellular response to mechanical stimulations upon cultures with biomimetic substrate modifications. In this min-review, we will highlight key findings on the integrative role of substrate cue (topographic, geometric, etc.) and mechanical stimulation (stretch, fluid shear) in modulating cell function and fate. The integrative approaches, though not fully established yet, will help properly understand cell mechanotransduction under biomimetic mechanophysical environments. This may further lead to advanced functional tissue engineering and regenerative medicine protocols.

View more

Mapping the osteocytic cell response to fluid flow using RNA-Seq

Journal of biomechanics

2015

Bone adaptation to mechanical loading is regulated via signal transduction by mechano-sensing osteocytes. Mineral-embedded osteocytes experience strain-induced interstitial fluid flow and fluid shear stress, and broad shifts in gene expression are key components in the signaling pathways that regulate bone turnover. RNA sequencing analysis, or RNA-Seq, enables more complete characterization of mechano-responsive transcriptome regulation than previously possible. We hypothesized that RNA-Seq of osteocytic MLO-Y4 cells reveals both expected and novel gene transcript regulation in cells previously fluid flowed and analyzed using gene microarrays. MLO-Y4 cells were flowed for 2h with 1Pa oscillating fluid shear stress and post-incubated 2h. RNA-Seq of original samples detected 55 fluid flow-regulated gene transcripts (p-corrected 1.5-fold or decreased

View more