Study Shows Promise For Developing Protein Therapies For Disease Prevention

Understanding the role of protein molecules is vital for health research and finding cures and medicines for diseases.

A computer analysis by two University of Michigan researchers shows promise for helping develop therapies for some major diseases by rescuing proteins that have stopped performing normally.

Understanding the role of protein molecules is vital for health research and finding cures and medicines for diseases. The U-M findings appear as a cover story in the April 20, 2011 issue of Biophysical Journal.

"There are many diseases, including cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease and diabetes, that are products of improperly folded—but potentially functional—proteins," says lead author Santiago Schnell, Ph.D., associate professor of molecular and integrative physiology at the U-M Medical School, and Brehm investigator at the Bre