Peter Yurchenco has studied the assembly, structure and functions of basement membranes (BMs) since 1984. A model of BM assembly resulting from this work explains how laminins adhere and anchor to cell surface receptors, polymerize and bind to nidogens, proteoglycans and collagen to form a functional matrix. The model has provided testable hypotheses for development of potential treatments for LAMA2-related dystrophies. Recently the Yurchenco laboratory engineered laminin-binding linker proteins that enable polymerization in dystrophic mice and can be delivered by AAV as a treatment approach.
Program Faculty
- Peter Yurchenco
- Professor
- Department: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
- Graduate Program(s): Biochemistry | Cell and Developmental Biology | Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology | Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
- Major Research Interest(s): Developmental Biology, Disease genetics, Pathogenesis
- Research Techniques: Atomic or Electron microscopy, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Cell culture, Imaging
- Research Organism(s): Cell lines, in vitro, Mice
- Phone: 1.7322354674
- Email:
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- RWJMS Research Tower, Room 249
- 675 Hoes Lane West
- Piscataway, NJ 08854-8021
- Key Words: basement membrane assembly, structure and functions