Dr. Kim’s lab identifies pathogenesis of musculoskeletal diseases and innate tissue regeneration signaling pathway for the development of therapeutic strategies for degenerative musculoskeletal diseases. Newborns have high regenerative capacity, but they gradually lose their ability to regenerate tissues due to aging or post-traumatic damages. Our lab focuses on identifying the regeneration signaling pathway and targeting them for rejuvenating regenerative capacity in patients with musculoskeletal degenerative diseases.
Currently, treatments for musculoskeletal degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis and rotator cuff disease were limited to pain-relief medications or surgical operations, instead of providing a fundamental treatment for degenerating tissues. We conduct researches to understand the pathology of diseases using molecular level to animal model-based approach to develop a rational regeneration therapy.
- Identification of regenerating factors that induce regeneration of degernerated musculoskeletal tissues
Musculoskeletal system, consisting of abundant amount of extracellular matrix (ECM), is maintained by homeostatic balance of ECM catabolism and anabolism. Notably, ECM plays essential roles in structural maintenance and buffering to protect the pivotal functions of tissue. In normal tissue, ECM homeostasis is well-balanced, whereas degenerative musculoskeletal systems show homeostatic imbalance to impair the ECM content and normal tissue functions. Therefore, patients with musculoskeletal diseases suffer from discomfort and severe pain. To this end, we sought to identify the key regulatory molecule for anabolic metabolism to discover tissue regeneration factors. Currently we are investigating previously undefined post-translational modification (PTM) which activates transcriptional factors using proteomic analysis. We aim to observe increased ECM synthesis and mitigation of musculoskeletal degeneration by inhibiting upstream regulatory protein for the modification. We also try to find epigenetic tissue regeneration strategy through microRNA screening which controls ECM biosynthesis. In this way, we ultimately aim to discover a new type of regeneration-based therapy by boosting the inherent regeneration capacity inside our body.
- Small Molecule, Genetic Module, Stem Cell therapy
We aim to discover the regeneration factor and develop regenerative therapy using small molecule, genetic module, and stem cell therapy. Small molecule is an inorganic compound with low molecular weight, which can easily penetrate through cells to control biological process of a tissue. We investigate the effect of new small molecules, which are thought to regulate regeneration factors in musculoskeletal patients. We are also interested in stem cell therapy for tissue regeneration. Since stem cell therapy requires a delicate control of stem cell differentiation into appropriate tissue cells, we aim to develop a genetic module, which controls the expression of genes for tissue-specific differentiation. Stem cell therapy can stimulate tissue-specific differentiation and the application of genetic module will provide better anticipation for developing more effective regenerative medicine while minimizing the side effects.
- Therapeutic application for degenerative musculoskeletal disease
Discovery of regeneration factors and their regulation using small molecule along with stem cell therapy can improve quality of elderly people. We study key factors which induces regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues such as muscle, bone, cartilage, and tendon, to establish a new therapeutic strategy for devastating degenerative disease.