Henar Hevia Pérez, researcher at the area of Gene Therapy and Hepatology of the research center Applied Medicine (CIMA) of the University of Navarra, has discovered the protective role of the molecule methylthioadenosine (MTA) in a model of inflammation in vivo. thesis The new doctor has just presented her doctoral thesis at the School of Sciences.

According to this Biochemistry , "the inflammatory component is core topic in the development of many diseases, including those affecting the liver, so it is of vital importance to create new therapeutic strategies aimed at mitigating its effects".

"In addition to many other functions, the liver plays an essential role in the metabolism of amino acids. Among these, methionine stands out, an essential amino acid whose metabolism is altered in liver diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. Therefore, the efforts of researchers have been focused for a long time on the study of the hepatic metabolism of this amino acid and the pathological consequences of its alteration".

Inflammation associated with liver pathologies

Dr. Henar Hevia has studied the role of an important metabolic derivative of methionine, MTA, in inflammation, a process associated with a wide variety of pathologies, including liver damage. These programs of study were carried out in both in vivo and in vitro models, all of which demonstrated the potent anti-inflammatory effect of MTA. The researcher notes that "the administration of MTA prevented the development of the acute inflammatory response and thus completely protected the animals against death". In addition, prolonged treatment with MTA was well tolerated and never produced any adverse reactions in the animals.

In his opinion, this research developed at CIMA of the University of Navarra suggests that "the administration of MTA could be effective in the treatment of diseases containing an inflammatory component, such as liver cirrhosis, arthritis or multiple sclerosis".