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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Caffeine consumption has been associated with lower risks for multiple diseases, including type II diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, but the mechanism underlying these protective effects has been unclear. A new study now shows that caffeine promotes the movement of a regulatory protein into mitochondria, enhancing their function and protecting cardiovascular cells from damage. The work, publishing 21 June in the open access journal PLOS Biology [...] found that the protective effect was reached at a concentration equivalent to consumption of four cups of coffee, suggesting the effect may be physiologically relevant.
The authors have previously shown that at physiologically relevant concentrations (i.e. levels reached after four or more cups of coffee) caffeine improved the functional capacity of endothelial cells, which line the interior of blood vessels, and that the effect involved mitochondria, the cell's energy powerhouses.
Here, they showed that a protein called p27, known mainly as an inhibitor of the cell cycle, was present in mitochondria in the major cell types of the heart. In these cells, mitochondrial p27 promoted migration of endothelial cells, protected heart muscle cells from cell death, and triggered the conversion of fibroblasts into cells containing contractile fibers -- all crucial for repair of heart muscle after myocardial infarction. They found that caffeine induced the movement of p27 into mitochondria, setting off this beneficial chain of events, and did so at a concentration that is reached in humans by drinking four cups of coffee. Caffeine was protective against heart damage in pre-diabetic, obese mice, and in aged mice.
Journal Reference: Niloofar Ale-Agha, et al. CDKN1B/p27 is localized in mitochondria and improves respiration-dependent processes in the cardiovascular system—New mode of action for caffeine. PLOS Biology, 2018; 16 (6): e2004408 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2004408
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(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday June 23 2018, @05:48PM (1 child)
You and me both. I had to cut my caffeine intake in half in the past few years to keep from my heart being so awesome that it broke all the stuff around it.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday June 23 2018, @10:02PM
One late-night study session I was already beaned-up, but decided I needed more coffee so I ordered an iced Vietnamese because I wanted something sweet. What I didn't know was that the place in question made their iced Vietnameses with 4 shots of espresso. After drinking it I was convinced that the government was out to get me, and any police siren in the background meant that they would be rappelling from the helicopters any second to take me away. For the next painful hour, I knew what it was like to be on a PCP binge.
Coffee and cigarettes are great. But if you OD on them, there is nothing more terrifying than a coffee OD, and there is nothing more sickening and painful than a tobacco OD.