The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) said on the 6th that they selected Lee Yoon-sil, a professor at Seoul National University Graduate School of Dentistry, as the May recipient of the Korea Scientist and Engineer Award.
The Korea Scientist and Engineer Award is given monthly to one researcher who has contributed to the advancement of science and technology with original research achievements over the past three years. The winner receives the vice minister's award from the Ministry of Science and ICT and 10 million won in prize money.
Professor Lee was recognized for identifying the biological mechanism by which mitochondria in osteoblasts, the cells that form bone, promote osteogenesis. The study is meaningful in that, amid rising rates of bone diseases such as osteoporosis, osteopenia, and fractures due to aging, it suggested the potential of a new therapeutic strategy to restore damaged bone.
Current treatments for bone diseases largely focus on inhibiting bone resorption. However, there are concerns about certain side effects with long-term use, and in some cases a drug holiday is needed after a period of treatment. Accordingly, the need for research has been consistently raised on therapies that go beyond slowing disease progression to actually restoring damaged bone itself.
To verify the role of mitochondria in osteoblasts, Lee's team developed genetically modified mice in which green fluorescent protein is expressed only in osteoblast mitochondria. Using this, they observed in real time that when osteoblasts are activated, mitochondria change into a donut shape and are then secreted outside the cell as small vesicle-like structures.
They also confirmed that when mitochondria secreted from osteoblasts were transplanted into bone defect sites, the differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells was promoted and the speed of bone regeneration increased. This shows that mitochondria do not merely serve as organelles that produce energy inside cells but can also be involved in intercellular signaling and tissue regeneration processes.
Lee also established a method to precisely isolate only osteoblasts from the bones of genetically modified mice. This improved the precision and reproducibility of bone regeneration research and led to six domestic and overseas patents registered and 11 applications related to mitochondria-based therapeutic technology.
Lee Yoon-sil said, "Ultimately, I want to propose a new approach to treating musculoskeletal disorders," adding, "I want to help make treatments that restore damaged tissue, not just slow disease progression, become commonplace."