Regenerative Biology Program

The major neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease, are caused by the misfolding of specific proteins.  With its traditional strength in the biophysical and molecular analysis of proteins, Boston Biomedical Research Institute is strongly positioned to analyze the molecular basis of these disorders to discover ways to correct the folding defects.  These studies are aided by the availability at the Institute of cellular models of Huntington's based on yeast and animal cells, of animal models for both Huntington's and Parkinson's disease, as well as the ability to monitor mouse behavior in order to evaluate possible therapeuticsto understand how body structures, disease and other processes lead to the body tissue loss or dysfunction will lead to the successful treatment of Alzheimer's disease, muscular dystrophy, diabetes and stroke. By learning how muscles grow and deteriorate and what role specific proteins play in these processes, Boston Biomedical’s Regenerative Biology team will discover how to promote muscle regeneration.

Congenital muscular dystrophies are caused by genetic defects that lead to severe atrophy of muscle tissue.  The onset of the disease and the types of muscle affected are determined by the underlying genetic mutations, and no single treatment is therefore possible.  Institute scientists are studying several different muscular dystrophies to identify their particular molecular defects and possible modes of intervention.

The therapeutic agents currently being explored by Institute scientists are small molecule drugs against Huntington's, hormonal intervention for Parkinson's, and a vaccine strategy against Alzheimer's disease.