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Posted on Jun 27, 2018, 10 p.m.
Effects of a protein called p27 found within caffeine has been shown in a new study to help protect against heart muscle damage, as published in the journal PLOS Biology.
Previously caffeine has been associated with lower risk of various chronic metabolic disease including CVD and type 2 diabetes. P27 protein found within caffeine helps promote effective mitochondrial function protecting cells of the heart and blood vessels against damage, according to the researchers from Heinrich-Heine-University and IUF-Leibniz Research Institute.
In the past studies have revealed caffeine improves function of endothelial cells lining the cardiovascular system, which was seen to occur at normal safe doses and was related to mitochondria. Researchers focused on p27 protein cell cycle inhibitor in this study and found it was present within mitochondria of all major heart cell types.
P27 protein helps to prevent cell death in cardiac muscle cells, promotes maturation of fibroblasts into contractile cells, and encourages endothelial cells to migrate, all of which are critical to cardiac muscle repair after a heart attack.
Caffeine has been found to help by promoting repair by facilitating entry of p27 into the mitochondria at physiologic levels. Researchers are hopeful that their results may lead to better strategies for heart protection from damage as an additional dietary factor in the older population.
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http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2004408
