Honey, I shrank the hormone.Researchers searching for small molecules that perform like the hormone erythropoietin erythropoietin /eryth·ro·poi·e·tin/ (-poi´e-tin) a glycoprotein hormone secreted by the kidney in the adult and by the liver in the fetus, which acts on stem cells of the bone marrow to stimulate red blood cell production (EPO EPO see erythropoietin. EPO Erythropoietin, see there ), a 165-amino-acid-long protein that triggers the creation of red blood cells Red blood cells Cells that carry hemoglobin (the molecule that transports oxygen) and help remove wastes from tissues throughout the body. Mentioned in: Bone Marrow Transplantation red blood cells , have good news. Several recently isolated peptides, one of them just 14 amino acids long, can stimulate blood cell formation via the same cell signaling pathways as EPO, report Nicholas Wrighton of Affymax Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., and his colleagues in the July 26 Science. The EPO-like peptides represent a major milestone in molecular mimicry molecular mimicry Immunology A mechanism that may explain some forms of autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks self antigens that are structurally similar to nonself antigens and are "enough to reinstate one's belief in Santa Claus," James A. Wells of Genentech, a biotech company in South San Francisco South San Francisco, city (1990 pop. 54,312), San Mateo co., W Calif.; inc. 1908. South San Francisco has several industrial parks; its manufactures include medical supplies and equipment, foods, paint, paper products, consumer goods, and clothing. , comments in Science. The peptides may lead to the development of a drug that duplicates the effects of EPO but is small enough to be taken orally, suggest the scientists. The hormone, often used by AIDS and cancer patients, has become biotechnology's single biggest revenue producer, generating more than $1 billion in sales annually, even though it must be injected. |
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