In Russia, they proposed a new way to predict the occurrence of diabetes in pregnant women. This was reported by the press service of Moscow State University.
In living organisms there are L- and D-amino acids – they have the same chemical composition, but with a mirror-image molecular structure. The vast majority of amino acids have an L-form and 1% of D-amino acids are involved in the regulation of certain body activities. In particular, high D-alanine levels are associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
“Two years ago, a study was published on the relationship between D-phenylalanine levels in pregnant women and the development of diabetes,” said Vladimir Tishkov, head of the study. “This type of diabetes is called gestational diabetes and is quite common in pregnant women, which can cause problems for the child.”
At the same time, scientists did not yet have a simple way to detect D-phenylalanine – this required expensive and complex equipment for liquid chromatography, and each such column could not withstand more than a hundred procedures. Method recommended by the authors based On the enzymatic reaction of D-amino acids. As an enzyme, oxidases can be used, which react with D-amino acids with the release of hydrogen peroxide, an easily detectable compound. Such an enzyme has been found “encoded” in the genomes of several extremophile organisms living in the White Sea.
After a series of additional studies, the authors hope to create an affordable and inexpensive kit for testing pregnant women.
ancient biologists raised artificial fat for test tube meat.