Vitamin B6 is an essential nutrient in the brain, and deficiencies in this vitamin are often linked to memory loss or depression, but not enough B6 in supplements alone to achieve adequate levels, as insufficient B6 in the human brain as inhibited by the enzyme pyridoxal phosphatase at Würzburg University Medicine in mice and found that the protein can effectively increase the levels of B6 in the cell, opening up a new treatment avenue for mental and neurodegenerative disorders.
The use of 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone to prevent the breakdown of vitamin B6 in cells was discovered by scientists, who believe it could provide a novel treatment for mental and neurodegenerative diseases.
Vitamin B6 is a vital component of brain metabolism. So, insufficient vitamin B6 levels are associated with memory and learning difficulties, depressive episodes and clinical depression in several mental illnesses, aged 100 and above. A lack of adequate vitamin B6 is linked to memory decline and dementia.
The role of vitamin B6 in mental illness is not fully understood, despite some observations being made decades ago. Nevertheless, it is clear that taking more vitamin B6 supplements in a form form is insufficient to prevent or treat brain disorders.
Antje Gohla, Professor of Biochemical Pharmacology at the Department of Pharmacology at Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg (JMU), has discovered a new technique for enhancing vitamin B6 levels in cells, which is now facilitated by a research team from Würzburg University Medicine, by specifically inhibiting its intracellular degradation.
Among the team are members from the Rudolf Virchow Center for Integrative and Translational Bioimaging at JMU, the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie-FMP Berlin, and the Institute for Clinical Neurobiology at Würzburg University Hospital. The team's findings were published in the scientific journal eLife by the team.
Antje Gohla reports that previous studies had shown that the genetic suppression of vitamin B6-degrading enzyme pyridoxal phosphatase in mice improves the animals' spatial learning and memory capacity. They have now searched for pharmaceutical agents that specifically target and suppress this enzyme's binding and inhibition activities.
A natural substance that inhibits pyridoxal phosphatase and slows down vitamin B6 degradation was successfully used by the pharmacologist's team to increase vitamin B6 levels in nerve cells involved in learning and memory processes.
According to the researchers, 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone has already been reported in many scientific papers to enhance learning and memory processes in mental disorder models, while the latest study suggests that its inhibitory effect on pyridoxal phosphatase may lead to improved understanding and provide a new drug approach for treating mental disorders.
The team deems the identification of 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone as an inhibitor of pyridoxal phosphatase as a significant accomplishment, citing its challenging nature in drug development.
When will the impact of this discovery be positive?
Gohla and her team are determined to create compounds that can inhibit this enzyme effectively, and this could lead to the development of targeted inhibitors for evaluating the impact of increasing cellular vitamin B6 levels on mental or neurodegenerative disorders.
In eLife published on June 10, the journal declared that 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone acts as a direct inhibitor of human and murine pyridoxal phosphatase.
