Metals such as zinc, copper and chromium bind to and influence a peptide involved in insulin production, according to new work from chemists at the University of California, Davis.
Metals such as zinc, copper and chromium bind to and influence a peptide involved in insulin production, according to new work from chemists at the University of California, Davis. The research is part of a new field of “metalloendocrinology” that takes a detailed look at the role of metals in biological processes in the body.
“We’re asking questions people didn’t realize we don’t have the answers to,” said Marie Heffern, assistant professor of chemistry at UC Davis and senior author on the paper, to be published in the journal ChemBioChem.
Metals play a role in many biochemical processes. Hemoglobin contains iron and carries oxygen in the blood; zinc and copper are involved in a third to a half of all body functions. But while scientists know the overall amount of an element in a given component of the body, such as blood, they generally don’t know the exact location of these metals, the state they are in or their biological role in the body.
Read more at University of California – Davis
Photo: UC Davis chemist Marie Heffern is pioneering a new field, metalloendocrinology, exploring how metals such as iron, zinc and copper influence hormones. CREDIT: Gregory Urquiaga/UC Davis
