Chemists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have designed a new class of amino acid that could be used to help combat cancer and Parkinson’s disease.
David Berkowitz, UNL professor of chemistry, and his team modified a new type of amino acid that could inactivate certain enzymes known to cause a variety of health problems.
“Inactivating enzymes of any type is a good strategy for making pharmaceutical drugs,” Berkowitz said in a Nebraska Today news release.
According to the news release, many therapeutic drugs are able to temporarily shut down problematic enzymes, but this method requires repeated doses to remain effective. The amino acid that Berkowitz and his team created is instead able to permanently adhere itself to the enzyme and stop its production without the need for recurring doses.
The amino acid is designed to inhibit the enzymes that assist in the creation of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers that send signals throughout the brain. Victims of Parkinson’s disease typically have reduced levels of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that helps regulate the brain’s reward and pleasure centers.
Current treatment for Parkinson’s disease patients involves a combination regimen where the first drug blocks the harmful enzyme and the second drug boosts dopamine levels in the affected area of the brain.
Berkowitz said the treatment for Parkinson’s disease and other similar treatments inspire his and his colleagues’ work.
“This is the great thing about being an organic chemist,” Berkowitz said. “You get to think about stuff nobody’s ever seen before, draw it up on the board and then go in the lab and actually make it.”
http://www.dailynebraskan.com/news/unl-chemists-new-amino-acid-could-combat-cancer-parkinson-s/article_12130634-c434-11e7-983d-97168b5e7227.html
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