Groundbreaking Research Could Provide Key to Kicking Smoking Habit for Good
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Groundbreaking research could provide key to kicking smoking habit for good:
"People try to go cold turkey all the time. The problem is that there are withdrawal symptoms," says Dr. Ricky Stull, assistant professor of chemistry at Western Michigan University, whose breakthrough research lays the groundwork for a potential solution. His work advances a strategy of using enzymes to degrade nicotine in the body, flushing it from the system without any adverse effects.
[...] "My research was showing oxygen wasn't the acceptor for the [NicA2] enzyme. Instead we found a cytochrome protein, which is part of the electron transport chain and is normally used to produce energy within the cells, is the natural electron acceptor," says Clark, who is pursuing bachelor's degrees in chemical engineering and biochemistry. "I found if you use the cytochrome c as the electron acceptor, you need far less NicA2 to get the beneficial loss of nicotine addiction."
The result could be monumental for the millions of tobacco users who know the habit is bad for their health but are struggling to quit.
"I think the application where this would most be useful would be in an individual who is attempting to quit smoking and is at high risk of relapse," Stull says, giving an example of someone trying to quit smoking who slips during a social event with friends. Generally, introducing nicotine back into their body would trigger the addiction in their brain. "If they're being treated with this enzyme during a re-exposure event, the nicotine would not actually reach their brain, which would prevent them from becoming addicted once again."
Journal Reference:
Mark Dulchavsky, Christopher T. Clark, James C. A. Bardwell, et al. A cytochrome c is the natural electron acceptor for nicotine oxidoreductase, Nature Chemical Biology (DOI: 10.1038/s41589-020-00712-3)
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