Why
is this Important? |
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In this study, Theophylline and Caffeine were found to be isoform inhibitors of PI3-K. Not only are there few inhibitors of this enzyme in general, an isoform inhibitor has never been found before. Perhaps one of the most important roles of science is to better understand the world around us. The more specialized information we acquire, the better chance we have at making important breakthroughs in the arenas of science and medicine. The discovery of an PI3-K isoform inhibitor opens the door to a whole new world of more specified possibilities. Two of these possibilities are clearly targets of interest. IB PI3-K have been tied to ADP-induced platelet aggregation. Testing has shown that by knocking out the gene that codes for IB PI3-K, this platelet aggregation can be reduced. Now with caffeine and theophylline as isoform inhibitors of Class I PI3-K kinases, there is hope that an easy treatment can be developed for thrombosis. As we now know, Phosphokinase B is involved in the apoptotic pathway. Inhibited PKB is unable to inhibit the enzymes which promote apoptosis and caffeine and theophylline have been proven to effieciently inhibit PKB. This gives scientists hope that treatments with caffeine and theophylline can be employed during or in stead of chemotherapy to induce apoptosis in cancer cells. |
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