Blog Post July 15, 2011
Bioactive Compounds in Berries Can Reduce High Blood Pressure
ScienceDaily (Jan. 15, 2011) — Eating blueberries can guard against high blood pressure, according to new research by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Harvard University.
Science Daily is a good website for stimulating potential “out of the box” topics which high school students can use in their research process. Articles can also be used as an ice-breaker for lecture and lab.
According to Science Daily, this study is also published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (could not locate). The article summarizes research completed at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Harvard University. The posting got me thinking about connecting the article’s findings with microinjections.
According to the article, 181,000 people were placed in cohorts for a 14 year study. At the start of the study, none of the participants had hypertension. The study found that the participants who consumed flavonoids were less likely (8%) to be diagnosed with hypertension. Those who ate blueberries once a week were 10% less likely to become hypertensive. So what are flavonoids and how are they related to what we do in our lab?
After a quick search in PubMed (and asking Jessica and Nick), I learned that GABA lowers blood pressure when injected into the RVLM of rats. I probably heard this response to GABA during the Thursday lab meetings, but it finally clicked for me today--light bulb moment! A PubMed search for “GABA + Flavonoid”, provided me with information that there is a flavone-binding site in the GABA(A)-receptor. This receptor is a ligand-gated ion channel and it responds to the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid. Since microinjected GABA lowers blood pressure when injected into the RVLM and if consumption of blue berries lowers the risk of developing hypertension by 10%. Could we connect the two into an experiment in our lab?
The receptor for GABA is a flavone-binding site, so what would happen if we injected a flavonoid into the RVLM? Would it decrease the blood pressure? And, what is the specific molecular conversation here? Would the flavonoid enhance the function of the receptor, serving like a cofactor or coenzyme? Is there a conformational change in the receptor in the presence of flavonoid?
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