MacLean DB and Luo LG, two researchers at the Division of Endocrinology, Hallett Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology, Brown Medical School, were intrigued by the fact that P57 is chemically similar to a class of plant-derived compounds called cardiac glycosides, of which the ones derived from various foxglove species (genus Digitalis) are the best known.
These powerful drugs increase the force of contraction of the heart muscle and help maintain normal heart rate and rhythm. A common side effect of the cardiac glycosides is loss of appetite.
Like many other drugs, cardiac glycosides act by interacting with specific receptor molecules embedded in the walls of our cells.
When stimulated by such interactions, these receptors (which are large, complex proteins that act as molecular channels) initiate a chain of events inside the cell, the net effect of which is the action attributed to the drug.
In the case of cardiac glycosides, the receptor molecule is called Na/K-ATPase. Its primary function is to regulate the flow of sodium ions (Na+) and potassium ions (K+) into and out of the cell through the molecular channel, using chemical energy provided by molecules of ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
This process, called a sodium/potassium pump, is critically important in maintaining proper cell function and allowing cells to perform certain actions, such as muscle contraction (including that of the heart muscle) and nervous impulse transmission.
Posted in Research & Papers on Hoodia - Obesity - Overweight 928 lecturas
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