Selective enzyme inhibition

2001/05/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Farmakologia

A research group at the University of Washington School of Medicine believes that a selective mechanism such as Viagra can cure diseases. Viagra only inhibits a particular enzyme from the family of phosphodiesterases (PDE), cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase. It does not affect enzymes that may have other functions, so it does not produce side effects.

Given the possibility of inhibiting a single enzyme, scientists began to investigate this path and are now showing the results of these investigations. In this sense, the laboratory of the doctor in pharmacology Joseph Beavo has analyzed different enzymes. PDE7 and PDE8 enzymes, for example, have detected the breakdown of cAMP molecules present in some immune cells, whose inhibition could treat rheumatoid arthritis and allergies.

For its part, the enzyme PDE3 hinders the flow of insulin (diabetes) and leptin (obesity). On the other hand, researchers believe that PDE inhibitors can also be used to improve memory and treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and blood clotting.