TEXT SIZE: Default text size Medium text size Large text size
Image
Professor Nicholas Athanasou PDF Print

Professor of Musculo-Skeletal Pathology

Nuffield Department of Orthopaedic Surgery,
University of Oxford, Department of Pathology,
Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre,
Headington,
Oxford, OX3 7LD


Department Information
Medical Sciences Division
www.medsci.ox.ac.uk


Professor Nicholas Athanasou, MA (MB, BS, MD Sydney; PhD Lond), MRCP, FRCPath, qualified in medicine from the University of Sydney. He carried out research and trained in pathology at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, where he completed his PhD, and in Oxford, where he was the Arthritis Research Campaign Fellow in Osteoarticular Pathology before being appointed Consultant Histopathologist at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in 1992.  He is now Professor of Musculoskeletal Pathology, University of Oxford (Honorary Consultant Histopathologist).

Research Interests
Professor Athanasou is interested in all aspects of the physiology and pathology of bone and joint tissues, particularly osteoclast pathobiology. His research work has included development of widely employed human osteoclast formation and resorption assay systems and definition of the antigenic phenotype of the human osteoclast. His work defined the cellular and humoral conditions required for human mononuclear phagocyte-osteoclast differentiation.

Professor Athanasou directs several research groups carrying out investigations into the pathological bone resorption that occurs in many common bone and joint disorders including:-

  • Osteoporosis
  • Paget's disease
  • Aseptic loosening of joint implant components
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Primary and secondary bone tumours including giant cell tumour and other giant cell-rich tumours of bone, osteosarcoma, metastatic breast carcinoma and melanoma.
  • Bone infection

Other research interests include:-

  • Inflammatory changes in osteoarthritis
  • Osteoarticular amyloid deposition, including beta-2 microglobulin (dialysis-associated) amyloid disease
  • The role of lymphatics in bone, joint and soft tissue disease
  • Bone and joint infection
  • The pathogenesis of benign  and malignant bone and soft tissue tumours
  • The development of orthopaedic pathology diagnostic techniques.

This has led to the development of monoclonal/polyclonal antibodies to identify tumours of adipose differentiation and bone/soft tissue giant cell tumours as well as characterisation of the histological and microbiological criteria for the diagnosis of bone and joint infection.

Professor Athanasou's research work has been funded by the Wellcome Trust, Action Research, the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council, the Cancer Research Campaign, Research into Ageing, the BOA Wishbone Trust, the National Association for the Relief of Paget's Disease, the Nuffield Foundation, the Rosetrees Trust, the Breast Cancer Research Trust, the Sasakawa Foundation and the Francis & Augustus Newman Foundation.

He is currently the Research Line Co-ordinator for the EuroBoNeT Network of Excellence investigating Giant Cell Tumour of Bone and Paget’s disease/Osteoclast biology.

Recent and Forthcoming Publications (All publications)

  • Adamopoulos I, Athanasou NA. (2006). Hepatocyte growth factor in normal and diseased bone and joint tissues.  Current Rheumatology Reviews.  2: 1-7.
  • Matthews TJ, Hand GC, Rees JL, Athanasou NA, Carr AJ.  (2006).  Pathology of the torn rotator cuff tendon:  reduction in potential for repair as tear size increases.  J Bone Joint Surg.  88B:  489 - 495. 
  • Colucci S, Taraboletti A, Primo L, Viale A, Roca C, Valdembri D, Geuna M, Pagano M, Grano M, Pogrel AM, Harris A, Athanasou NA, Mantovani A, Zambonin Zallon A, Bussolino F.  (2006).  Gorham Stout disease: a monocyte-mediated cytokine-propelled disease.  J Bone Mineral Res.  21:  207-218.
  • Sun SG, Lau YS, Itonaga I, Sabokbar A, Athanasou NA.  (2006).  Bone stromal cells in Paget's disease and Paget's sarcoma express RANKL and support human osteoclast formation.   J Pathology.   209:  114 - 120.
  • Adamopoulos I, Edwards J, Ferguson D, Wordsworth P, Carr  A,  Athanasou NA.  (2006).  Synovial fluid macrophages are capable of osteoclast formation and resorption.  J Pathol.  208: 35-43.
  • Edwards JE, Sun SG, Shipman C,  Adamopoulos I,  Athanasou NA, Sabokbar A.  (2006).  LIGHT (TNFSF14).  A novel mediator of  pathological bone resorption.  Arthritis Rheum. 54:  1451-1462.
  • Lau YS, Wang W, Sabokbar A, Simpson AHR, Nair S, Henderson B, Athanasou NA (2006).   Staphylococcus aureus capsular material promotes osteoclast formation and resorption.  Injury.  37:  541-548.
  • Lau YS, Sabokbar A, Giele H, Cerundolo V, Athanasou NA.  (2006).  Metastatic melanoma and bone resorption.  Br J Cancer.  94:  1496-1503
  • Adamopoulos I, Danks L, Sabokbar AS, Athanasou NA.  (2006).  Stimulation of osteoclast formation by inflammatory (rheumatoid/crystal arthritis) synovial fluid.   Virchows Archiv.  449:  69-77.
  • Adamopoulos I, Edwards J, Wordsworth BP, Athanasou NA.  (2006).  Mechanisms of osteoclast formation and bone resorption in multicentric reticulohistiocytosis.  Human Pathol 37: 1176-1185.
  • Adamopoulos IE, Xia Z, Lau YS, Athanasou NA.  (2006).  Hepatocyte growth factor can substitute  for M-CSF  to induce osteoclast formation.  Biochem Biophys Res Commun.  350:  478-483. 
  • Sivan M, Theologis  T, Athanasou NA, Ostlere A.  (2007).   Percutaneous radio-frequency ablation of chondroblastoma:  an effective alternative.  Eur J:  Orthop Traumatol.  (In Press).
  • Theologis S, Ostlere S, Gibbons CLMH, Athanasou NA. (2007).  Toxic osteoblastoma of the scapula.  Skeletal Radiology.  (In Press).
  • Teh J, Leung J, Shar S, Athanasou NA (2007).  Abdominal wall endometriosis: comparative imaging on power Doppler ultrasound and MRI.  Clin Radiol.  (In Press).
  • Smithard A, Gibbons CLMH,  Athanasou NA, McCarthy CC.  (2007).  Bilateral achilles tendon xanthoma associated with cerebrotendinous xanthomas.  Skeletal Radiology.  (In Press).
  • Vlychou M, Rigopoulou A, Ostlere SJ, Athanasou NA. (2007).  Parosteal osteosarcoma of the ethmoid.  Skeletal  Radiology.  (In Press).
  • Edwards J, Schulze E, Gordon-Andrews H, Sabokbar A, Athanasou NA. (2007).   Absence of lymphatics at the bone-implant interface.  Implications for periprosthetic osteolysis. Acta Orth Scand (In Press).
  • Rigopoulou A, Vlychou M, Ostlere SJ, Gibbons CMLH, Athanasou NA.  (2007).  Leiomyosarcoma of bone with plexiform elements. Skeletal Radiology (In Press).
  • Lau YS, Danks L, Sun SG, Sabokbar A, Fox S, Athanasou NA.  (2007).  Cellular and molecular mechanisms of macrophage-osteoclast differentiation  in breast cancer.  Breast Cancer Research and Treatment (In Press).
  • Vlychou M, Rigopoulou A, Athanasou NA. (2007). Bizarre parosteal osteochondromatous proliferation of the clavicle.  (Submitted).
  • Lau YS, Sun SG, Gibbons CMLH,  Sabokbar A, Athanasou NA.  (2007).  Cellular and humoral mechanisms of osteoclast formation in Ewing's sarcoma. (Submitted).
  • Edwards JR, Williams K, Kindblom LG, Meis-Kindblom J, Hughes D, Hoogendorn P, Jackson D, Forsyth R,  Athanasou NA.  (2007).  Lymphatics and bone.  (Submitted).
  • Williams K, Flanagan A, Folpe A, Thakker R, Athanasou NA.   (2007).   Lymphatic vessels are present in phosphaturic mesenchymal tumours.  (Submitted).
  • Lau YS, Vlychou M, Ostlere S, Athanasou NA.  (2007).  Expression of osteoclastogenic markers by tumour cells in giant cell-rich leiomyosarcoma. (Submitted).
  • Joyner CJ, Reed AAC, Gibbons M, Athanasou NA. (2007). Mast cells are involved in the growth of primary tumours and tumour-like lesions of bone. (Submitted).
  • Spencer JM, Preziosi G, Carr A, Hatton C, Gibbons CLMH, Athanasou NA. (2007).  Primary bone lymphoma of the upper limb. (Submitted).
  • Itonaga I, Sun S, Sabokbar A, Maki M, Carr A, Gibbons CLMH, Athanasou NA. (2007).  Promotion of Osteoclast Formation by Cells Isolated from a Primary B Cell Lymphoma of Bone. (Submitted).