Rebecca S Mason
Vitamin D, Bone and Skin Laboratory
Professor Rebecca S Mason and her group study the mechanisms which regulate calcium and phosphate concentrations and bone mass using cellular and molecular techniques. These studies are directed towards better understanding the pathogenesis of osteoporosis and other bone and dental disorders and to improved treatment methods. Mechanisms involved in skin protection from sunlight by vitamin D compounds, which are also important for healthy bones, are studied in skin cell and in vivo systems.
Rebecca Mason graduated in Medicine at Sydney University in 1975. After hospital service, she completed a PhD on vitamin D at Sydney hospital, then moved to Royal North Shore Hospital in the Section of Endocrinology. In 1988, she accepted a position with the Department of Physiology, Sydney University, though still retains a position with Endocrinology and Cancer Genetics at RNSH.
Her research interests include the regulation of bone turnover and mechanisms of osteoporosis and the role of vitamin D in protection from sunlight. The link between bone and skin is Vitamin D. She has served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research and on National Health and Medical Research Council Grant Review Panels for Endocrinology and Reproduction. She is a member of the Technical Committee of the Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (International Commission of Illumination) on Sunlight, Health and Vitamin D.
She is a Professor and Head of Physiology. She is acting Deputy Director of the Bosch Institute. For the Faculty of Medicine, she serves as Associate Dean (Curriculum) and Chair of the University of Sydney Medical Program Committee.
She is a member of the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Research Institute, a Council member of the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society and a Board member of Osteoporosis Australia.
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RESEARCH PROJECTS
Work in this laboratory is directed towards a better understanding of the problems of osteoporosis and its treatment and of protection from ultraviolet irradiation. Agents which regulate bone turnover and bone mass are studied in human bone cells using molecular techniques.
The work has shown that glucocorticoids, commonly used to treat immune diseases, but which increase fracture risk, not only impair bone forming cell activity, but by at least 2 mechanisms contribute to excessive bone resorption.
A novel phosphate regulator, FGF23 was shown to come principally from normal bone tissue under physiological conditions.
A number of studies were also undertaken, in collaboration with biomedical engineering, to test the ability of a variety of synthetic materials which could be used for bone implants, to support the growth of bone cells.
In relation to regulation of bone turnover, the group has shown that calcium, released from bone during the resorption phase, could act as a bone coupling agent to increase formation of new bone to replace that lost and so help to maintain bone mass. These studies also indicate that the new anti-osteoporosis agent, strontium, may act using similar pathways to calcium.
Vitamin D is important for normal bone and muscle function and is made in skin. Studies by this group have shown that in human skin cells and in mice, vitamin D compounds contribute in important ways to protection from ultraviolet/sun damage. Examination of how this photoprotective effect is produced is also a focus of the laboratory and may lead to new agents to enhance sun protection.
Selected publications from 2004-
Wong G, Gupta R, Dixon KM, Deo SS, Choong S, Halliday GM, Bishop JE, Ishizuka S, Norman AW, Posner GH, Mason RS. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D and three low calcemic analogs decrease UV-induced DNA damage via the rapid response pathway. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 89-90C:567-570, 2004.
Mirams M, Robinson BG, Mason RS, Nelson AE. Bone as a source of FGF23: regulation by phosphate? Bone 35:1192-1199, 2004.
Nowson CA, Diamond TH, Pasco JA, Mason RS, Sambrook PN, Eisman JAE. Vitamin D in Australia: Issues and recommendations. Australian Family Physician 33:133-138, 2004
Diamond TH, Eisman JAE, Mason RS, Nowson CA, Pasco JA, Sambrook PN, Wark JD. Vitamin D and adult bone health in Australia and New Zealand. Medical Journal of Australia 182: 281-285, 2005. (authors in alphabetical order)
Everitt AV, Brand-Miller JC, Hilmer SN, Jamieson HA, Truswell AS, Sharma AP, Mason RS, Morris BJ, Le Couter DG. Dietary approaches that delay age-related diseases. Clinical interventions in Aging 1:11-31, 2005.
Eisman JA, Ebeling P, Flicker L, Hearnden N, Mason R, Pasco J, Reid I, Sambrook P, Stenmark J, Wark J. Recommendations from the vitamin D and calcium forum. Medicine Today 6:43-50, 2005
Sivagurunathan S, Muir MM, Brennan TC, Seale PJ, Mason RS. Influence of glucocorticoids on human osteoclast generation and activity. J Bone Mineral Res 20:390-398, 2005.
Gordon-Thomson C, Jones J, Mason RS, Moore GPM. ErbB receptors mediate both migratory and proliferative activities in human melanocytes and melanoma cells. Melanoma Res 15: 21-28, 2005.
Dixon KM, Deo SS, Wong G, Slater M, Norman AW, Bishop JE, Posner GH, Ishizuka S, Halliday GM, Reeve VE, Mason RS. Skin cancer prevention: A possible role of 1,25dihydroxyvitamin D2 and its analogs. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 97: 137-143, 2005.
Stewart I, Roddie C, Gill A, Clarkson A, Mirams M, Coyle L, Ward C, Clifton-Bligh P, Robinson BG, Mason RS, Clifton-Bligh RJ. Elevated serum FGF23 concentrations in plasma cell dyscrasias. Bone 39:369-376, 2006.
Magdon Ismail FS, Rohanizadeh R, Atwa S, Mason RS, Ruys AJ, Martin PJ, Bendavid A. The influence of surface chemistry and topography on the contact guidance of MG63 osteoblast cells. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine 18: 705-714, 2007.
Gupta R*, Dixon KM*, Deo SS, Holliday CJ, Slater M, Halliday GM, Reeve VE, Mason RS. Photoprotection by 1,25dihydroxyvitamin D is associated with an increase in p53 and a decrease in nitric oxide products. * joint first authors J Invest Dermatol 127:707-715, 2007. (featured on front cover and in online edition).
Dixon KM, Deo SS, Norman AW, Bishop JE, Halliday GM, Reeve VE, Mason RS. The vitamin D rapid response pathway is relevant for in vivo photoprotection. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 103:451-456, 2007.
Rohanizadeh R, Swain MV, Mason RS. Gelatin sponges (Gelfoam) as a scaffold for osteoblasts. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine 18:705-14, 2007.
Brock, K, Cant R, Clemson L, Mason RS, Fraser DR. Effects of diet and exercise on plasma vitamin D (25(OH)D) levels in Vietnamese immigrant elderly in Sydney, Australia. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 103:786-792, 2007.
Ma WJ, Ruys AJ, Mason RS, Martin PJ, Bendavid A, Liu Z, Keast VJ, Zreiqat H. DLC coatings: Effects of physical and chemical properties on biological response. Biomaterials. 28:1620-1628, 2007.
Lee HJ, Mun H-C, Lewis NC, Culverston EL, Mason RS and Conigrave AD. Allosteric activation of the extracellular Ca2+ -sensing receptor by L-amino acids enhances ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Biochemical J 404:141-149, 2007.
Gorman S, L. Kuritzky A, Judge MA, Dixon KM, McGlade JP, Mason RS, Finlay-Jones JJ and Hart PH. Topically-applied 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 enhances the suppressive activity of CD4+CD25+ cells in the draining lymph nodes. J Immunol (in press; accepted August 15th, 2007)
Reviews:
Nowson CA, Diamond TH, Pasco JA, Mason RS, Sambrook PN, Eisman JAE. Vitamin D in Australia: Issues and recommendations. Australian Family Physician 33:133-138, 2004
Diamond TH, Eisman JAE, Mason RS, Nowson CA, Pasco JA, Sambrook PN, Wark JD. Vitamin D and adult bone health in Australia and New Zealand. Medical Journal of Australia 182: 281-285, 2005. (authors in alphabetical order)
Everitt AV, Brand-Miller JC, Hilmer SN, Jamieson HA, Truswell AS, Sharma AP, Mason RS, Morris BJ, Le Couter DG. Dietary approaches that delay age-related diseases. Clinical interventions in Aging 1:11-31, 2005.
Eisman JA, Ebeling P, Flicker L, Hearnden N, Mason R, Pasco J, Reid I, Sambrook P, Stenmark J, Wark J. Recommendations from the vitamin D and calcium forum. Medicine Today 6:43-50, 2005
Past Research
Professor Rebecca S Mason Department of Physiology The University of Sydney NSW 2006 AUSTRALIA