Are you taking statins? Be careful with copper and zinc!
Diet affects the effect of the anti-cholesterol drug
ChemPort.Ru based on the materials of the Royal Society of Chemistry:
Diet affects cholesterol drug
Researchers from the USA claim that zinc and copper consumed with food can reduce the beneficial effect of statin drugs – compounds designed to lower cholesterol levels in the body.
What began as a summer research project in the laboratory of the University of Washington (Seattle), led to an unexpected discovery. Initially, Douglas Fowler was going to study the effect of combinations of drugs with 52 metabolites on the growth of yeast cells. According to Fowler, by the end of the project period, not enough useful information had been received, but he was convinced that the idea of the project was good. The experiments were continued, and unexpectedly it was found that copper and zinc weaken the effectiveness of statins.
Statins work by inhibiting the enzyme responsible for cholesterol synthesis and are used to prevent cardiovascular diseases. It is known that metabolites in the body can interact with drugs. Naturally, information about this interaction will be able to increase the effectiveness of new drugs and/or get rid of a number of side effects.
The researchers found that in the presence of lovastatin, metal ions contribute to an increase in the concentration of proteins responsible for the production of ergosterol (ergosterol), an analog of cholesterol formed in yeast cells (figure from the article by Douglas M. Fowler et al. “Suppression of statin effectiveness by copper and zinc in yeast and human cells”, Mol. BioSyst., 2011, 7, 533).
The experiment was replicated on a grown mammalian cell culture and a similar result was obtained – zinc and copper led to an increase in cholesterol production by cells.
Fowler explains that cells contain thousands of metabolites. In some cases, combinations of metabolites and medications can produce fatal effects – for example, the interaction of antidepressants with food containing a large amount of tyramine (beta-(para-oxyphenyl)-ethylamine), which is found in cheese, meat and red wine, can even lead to death.
Guri Giaever, an expert on gene expression from the University of Toronto, notes that detailed information about the interaction of the metabolite – drug can reveal the features of the mechanism of action of the drug, which, undoubtedly, should have a huge impact on the appointment of treatment, depending on the individual characteristics of the patient.
As a result of the work on the project, it was not only discovered that copper ions and zinc ions can affect the effectiveness of statins, but also a technique was developed that allows determining the characteristics of the interaction of any drugs with metabolites.
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31.01.2011