Thursday, October 24, 2013

Peptide Therapy & Its Uses

By Armand Zeiders


While scientists have developed cures and vaccines for a host of medical afflictions, there still are many diseases that plague humanity. The use of peptide therapy may prove as a way to treat many types of autoimmune disorders as well as neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and even common ailments such as allergies.

When amino acids are joined together in long chains, then a peptide bond is has been created. The peptides will then work to become proteins, which are highly important structures within our cells, carrying out or catalyzing nearly every job that must take place within our cells. There are many different types of proteins, and the type that is created depends upon the kind of amino acids in the peptides as well as the structure of the peptides themselves.

It all begins with two amino acids that come together and form a chain. After the amino acids link, a peptide bond is created, and these peptides then become the basis for a protein. The peptides are long and flat but highly flexible, and they can bend. The structure of the peptide, as well as the type of amino acids in the chain, determines what type of protein is created. When something goes wrong or rather mutates, the effect on the body is quite tangible. For instance, peptide mutations cause red blood cells to be malformed which in turn can cause sickle cell anemia, a painful and debilitating medical condition.

This formation of peptides and proteins is a natural process occurring in all humans. However, the process also can be achieved in a lab artificially as peptide synthesis or the creation of synthetic peptides. These synthetic peptides can be copies of naturally occurring peptides or completely new types of peptides.

Peptide synthesis has many applications for scientists. These peptides can be studied do determine whether or not a particular protein has been isolated. Scientists also use peptide synthesis as a way to study the structure of proteins. In addition, the use of peptide synthesis to create medical treatments and vaccines is also a very important application. Researchers often rely on private biotech companies to produce custom synthetic peptides.

Studies have shown that peptide therapy could be useful for a wide range of diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. A recent study using mice showed that a vaccine successfully slowed the progression of Parkinson's disease. There are also studies that show specially designed peptides can delay the growth of cancerous tumors. While still experimental, peptide therapy will one day be commonplace as a treatment for many ailments.




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