James Laboratory

Congrats to Zhao Li and team for their work out today. 👏 👏 Hedgehog signaling implicated in nerve-directed calvarial bone healing! See results here. Work performed at @JohnsHopkins @JHUPath ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42003742/

After menopause, bone-breaking cells become overactive because they get coated with sugar molecules. Stripping off this sugar could stop bone loss as effectively as estrogen but without hormone therapy's risks.👇 #menopause #bone #hormone @BoneRes_Office nature.com/articles/s4141…

Long-term steroid use destroys hip joints by blocking blood flow and killing bone tissue. Understanding these cellular mechanisms offers targets for early intervention and prevention, potentially sparing patients from debilitating joint collapse and replacement surgery.😀 #steroid #bone #joint @BoneRes_Office nature.com/articles/s4141…

Bone cells sense how stiff their surroundings are through their microtubule skeleton, directing cell division. This reveals how physical forces guide cartilage repair, pointing to new treatments for joint injuries and osteoarthritis.🧐 #bone #osteoarthritis @BoneRes_Office nature.com/articles/s4141…

Love this. As the year progresses we are looking for new and talented trainees! Happy to meet potential lab members interested in skeletal neuroscience @ORSsociety meeting #ORS2026

Quiet motivation, pushing you forward into the year ahead. Happy New Year from the James laboratory @AaronWJames_Lab ✨ #Science #Research #AcademicLife #HappyNewYear2026

@HopkinsMedNews @PNASNews @HopkinsMedicine @JHUPath @US_FDA @sowmya_rames @Qin_Qizhi Grateful to have our work highlighted by @HopkinsMedNews. As this story continues to grow, we are looking for new and talented trainees. Happy to meet potential lab members @ORSsociety meeting #ORS2026

Study in @PNASNews (bit.ly/4oK42vm) by @HopkinsMedicine @JHUPath shows in mice that 2 @US_FDA-OK'd pain drugs also inhibit nerve signaling/blood vessels in #Osteosarcomas & slow growth & spread. Info: bit.ly/4ocnv7N. @sowmya_rames @Qin_Qizhi @AaronWJames_Lab

A bone-strengthening hormone (PTH) relieves chronic back pain by reversing spinal bone thickening and blocking painful nerve growth. This suggests repurposing an existing osteoporosis drug to treat age-related spine degeneration in humans.🧐 #PTH #bone #osteoporosis @BoneRes_Office nature.com/articles/s4141…

Lymphatic vessels in bones and joints drive arthritis and fracture progression. Targeting lymphatic vessels could speed healing and reduce inflammation—offering new drug targets for common musculoskeletal disorders.🥳 #musculoskeletal #bone @BoneRes_Office nature.com/articles/s4141…

Source for this data: NIH!

Nerve signals help heal bones by calming inflammation. Spicy food or a pain-relief cream boosts this process, offering new ways to treat bone diseases.👍 #bone #nerve @BoneRes_Office nature.com/articles/s4141…

NIH is not issuing awards. You may think that it's because they it is coming up with new directions of research...The apposite is true. Here is a graph showing how many fewer new funding opportunities that NIH has posted over time. -91%, a trend that started on Jan 2025.

It's that time of year! Hiring in the James lab. Please join this stellar group to lead our next effort! Most recent pub here 🔽🔽🔽👇👇👇 science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… Work @JHUPath @HopkinsMedicine @JohnsHopkins

#FGF9 Adhesive Capsulitis cytoHubba➡️FGF9 as an AC hub gene FGF9 ⬆️in 👤AC glenohumeral joint capsule & 🐭Shoulder Stiffness (joint immobilization) Which cell type?🧐 Where is FGF9 Ab info?😳 FGF9 ⏫NIH3T3 fibroblast proliferation migration & α-SMA level in a PI3K-dependent manner @FrontCellDevBio 2025 frontiersin.org/journals/cell-…

Our paper published in Science! Big congrats to @AaronWJames_Lab 🎉!Check it out: science.org/eprint/ITYHFUN….

@HopkinsMedNews @ScienceMagazine @HopkinsMedicine @JHUPath So grateful to our team for their tireless efforts and this culmination. A wonderful way to begin the new year! Work done @JohnsHopkins @JHUPath and published in @ScienceMagazine

Paper in @ScienceMagazine (bit.ly/49qKTbs) by @HopkinsMedicine @JHUPath research team details 1st-ever map of nerve circuitry in bone & identification of key signals for bone repair. See bit.ly/4bvHv1E & bit.ly/4jArVnF for more info. @AaronWJames_Lab

#SpatialTranscriptomics Visium @10xGenomics Vascular SpatialTime CD201/PROCR+ human perivascular mesenchymal progenitors Located at the outer adventitia of artery/vein in adipose tissue Wnt-hi A potential hierarchy of adventitial CD34+CD31-CD45-CD146- cell progenitorness CD201➡️CD304/NRP1 or CD141/THBD @NThottappillil @AaronWJames_Lab @Dev_Cell 2024 cell.com/developmental-…

Walking the halls at work, and am so grateful for all lab members (past and present) that helped with our recent achievements. Happy new year and may 2026 bring new knowledge and new journal covers! Photo taken @JHUPath @JohnsHopkins @HopkinsMedicine

Traumatic heterotopic ossification (HO) is an abnormal bone formation after injury. A study explores how necroptotic macrophages and p21-activated kinase 4 (Pak4) influence this process, revealing potential therapeutic targets.🧐 #bone #Pak4 @BoneRes_Office nature.com/articles/s4141…

cPLA2, a key inflammation mediator, drives cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis (OA) and intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). Inhibiting it reduces inflammation and preserves cartilage, offering hope for new therapies.👍 #cPLA2 #osteoarthritis #bone @BoneRes_Office nature.com/articles/s4141…