The use of an enzyme to destroy nicotine in the body of smokers would be a radical tool to quit smoking without adverse effects.
- The NicA2 enzyme avoids the withdrawal period.
- It also prevents relapses because the new intake of nicotine will not actually reach their brains, which would prevent smokers from becoming addicted again.
Quitting smoking is rarely easy. “The problem is that there are withdrawal symptoms”, continues Dr. Ricky Stull, assistant professor of chemistry at Western Michigan University. With his team of researchers, he may have found the solution to avoid these symptoms and allow those who want to quit smoking to do so without difficulty. They discovered a strategy of using enzymes to break down nicotine in the body, flushing it out of the system without any adverse effects. These results were presented on January 11 in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
A 2018 study revisited
The researchers relied on a 2018 study that they corrected to arrive at their result. This showed that an injection of the enzyme NicA2 into nicotine-dependent rats put an end to this addiction. “They had no evidence of relapse, no evidence of withdrawalsays Ricky Stull. But there was a problem with the NicA2 enzyme in this study. The enzyme, as they used it, degraded nicotine so slowly that they had to use outrageous amounts to see all of these beneficial effects. You could never translate it to people.”
To degrade nicotine, the NicA2 enzyme requires an electron acceptor. Ricky Stull and his colleagues found that the authors of the previous study incorrectly assumed that molecular oxygen is an electron acceptor from the enzyme. “Instead, we found a cytochrome protein, which is part of the electron transport chain and is normally used to produce energy in cells, which is a natural electron acceptordescribes Chris Clark, author of the new study. By using cytochrome as an electron acceptor, you need significantly less NicA2 to achieve the beneficial loss of nicotine addiction.”
Avoid relapses
The researchers suggest that this discovery could also prevent relapses, which are common among people who have been addicted and who are trying to quit smoking. “I think the application where this would be most useful would be in someone who is trying to quit smoking and is at high risk of relapsesays Ricky Stull. If they are treated with this enzyme during a re-exposure event, the nicotine will not actually reach their brain, which would prevent them from becoming addicted again..”
Further research is needed before using this method, especially to understand how the enzyme is able to reduce the concentration of nicotine in the blood without triggering withdrawal. “This is one of the first – if not the first – cases where we have proven that oxygen is not the native electron acceptor of an enzyme of this family.”, adds Chris Clark.
If these results are confirmed, the hope of an effective universal treatment will become reality. “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease worldwideconcludes Ricky Stull. If we could come up with a new treatment that could help people overcome their nicotine addiction or smoking, we could have a pretty big impact on human health..”
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