One molecule – against cholesterol and free radicals
A new guardian on protection from cardiovascular diseases
ChemPort.Ru based on Chemistry World: Single molecule fights heart disease on two frontsResearchers from Israel have identified an antioxidant that can simultaneously lower cholesterol levels and also remove free radicals.
This compound could provide an alternative to statins, the world's most famous cholesterol-lowering drugs.
High cholesterol and excess free radicals in the body are the main risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases. A healthy lifestyle and low cholesterol intake help prevent cardiovascular diseases, but people are still often unable to provide their body with the required cholesterol levels.
Most of the cholesterol does not come from food, but is produced by the body itself. Statins reduce cholesterol levels by acting as competitive inhibitors against 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme-A (HMG-CoA) reductase, an enzyme that catalyzes the biosynthesis of cholesterol. Meanwhile, some people do not respond to statin treatment.
Currently, Adi Haber, Zeev Gross, together with colleagues from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, have proposed a new alternative to statins.
Combining theoretical chemistry, biochemistry and animal testing, they found that the catalytic antioxidant, 1-Fe, iron(III) complex with bipolar corrosion and its analogues inhibit HMG-CoA reductase in a way completely different from statins. Gross says these compounds have nothing to do with statins and are completely different structures.
The macrocycle in 1-Fe is important for binding to HMG-CoA reductase in areas where chemical compounds usually do not bind to suppress the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Gross adds that he and his colleagues have discovered a new mode of action – corroles and statins suppress the same enzyme, but use different mechanisms.
Gross explains that an antioxidant developed by Israeli researchers eliminates free radicals in a catalytic mode. Antioxidants from food, wine and vitamins fight free radicals in a one-on-one reaction, that is, one molecule eliminates one radical. Catalytic antioxidants can take care of thousands of radicals.
Bato Korac from the University of Belgrade in Serbia, who studies the mechanisms of redox regulation in a healthy state and during illness, recognizes the advantages of the new complex. He explains that this antioxidant affects metabolism and controls cholesterol homeostasis in many aspects – low cellular uptake, better movement and reduced cholesterol synthesis from the very beginning. These results demonstrate new perspectives in the treatment of hypercholesterolemic disease.
Currently, Gross and his group of researchers are planning to study the effectiveness of 1-Fe in the treatment of other cholesterol-related diseases, such as diabetes.
Article by Haber et al. Allosteric inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase, the key enzyme involved in cholesterol biosynthesis is published in the journal Chemical Communications.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru26.08.2013