In a study conducted by Elizabeth Theil, senior scientist of the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, heptapeptide could be used to accelerate the removal of iron from ferritin. Heptapeptide is a small protein, seven amino acids wrapped into a single unit. The study published in the November issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry will help scientists develop medications to remove excess iron in patients suffering from B-Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Disease.
Ferritin is a protein that concentrates iron in its inner core or ‘cage’. It plays a critical role in iron overload. It has pores that could open and close. Chelators, a method to detoxify blood, removed irons faster when the pores of the ferritin cage were open.
When a peptide of seven amino acids, a heptapeptide, is coupled with Desferal the rate of iron removal from ferritin is much faster. Desferal is used to remove excess iron from blood. Heptapeptide would bind with ferritin to regulate ferritin pores.
Source:phyorg
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