Activator for macrophages
"Scavengers"-macrophages, devouring dead cells, produce a potential cure for atherosclerosis
The great Paracelsus was right when he said: "Everything is poison, and everything is medicine." Thus, a substance with an extremely unpleasant odor, formed during the decomposition of flesh, can become a potential drug in the treatment of atherosclerosis and other chronic inflammatory diseases. This discovery was made while studying the mechanisms by which the body gets rid of dead cells.
With atherosclerosis, atherosclerotic plaques accumulate in the blood vessels – dense formations that narrow their lumen. The formation of such plaques is a complex process that occurs in several stages, which is associated, among other things, with proliferation (proliferation) and cell death. Usually, the process of absorption of any dead cell in the body begins a few minutes after its "death", but in the case of atherosclerosis, this mechanism fails.
Millions of cells are constantly dying in our body, being replaced by new ones (for example, keratinized skin epithelial cells, blood cells, etc.). Cells can die as a result of both self–destruction (the process of cellular suicide - apoptosis) and necrosis (with a pathological type of cell death). "Biological debris" after cell death is absorbed by mobile cells of the immune system – macrophages. Their "diet" also includes any foreign microorganisms. Functional plasticity of macrophages, their high variability and adaptability determine the course of many immunological and inflammatory processes.
Recently, scientists from Columbia University Medical Center (USA), who observed the process of "eating" dead cells by human macrophages, found that they absorb the amino acid arginine from this biological debris, which is then converted into putrescine with the help of the enzyme arginase 1.
Article by Yurdagul et al. Macrophage Metabolism of Apoptotic Cell-Derived Arginine Promotes Continuous Efferocytosis and Resolution of Injury is published in the journal Cell Metabolism.
This well–known biogenic amine is a characteristic product of partial decomposition of protein, formed during putrefactive processes. Like other decomposition products, it has a typical, "sweet" and very unpleasant cadaverous smell. Putrescine is produced on an industrial scale, as it serves as a raw material for the production of polyamides. Macrophages need it in order to activate an intracellular protein that facilitates the process of disposal of the remains of dead cells.
Scientists have suggested that the development of atherosclerosis may be partially mediated by a lack of putrescine. In laboratory mice with atherosclerosis, a deficiency of arginase 1 was indeed detected, and the macrophages of these mice could not synthesize a sufficient amount of putrescine. When putrescine was added to drinking water, atherosclerotic plaques in animals decreased.
This means that putrescine may be a potential drug against atherosclerosis and possibly other conditions characterized by chronic inflammation (for example, Alzheimer's disease). In addition, when dissolved in water, it practically loses its extremely unpleasant smell – at least in those dosages that improved the condition of sick mice.
Of course, so far no one recommends taking a cup of dissolved putrescine in the morning. Nevertheless, the results of this work show a great therapeutic potential of compounds that help macrophages "devour" dead cells.
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