Researchers from Academia Sinica's Institute of Biomedical Sciences have identified a protein that carries vitamin C to muscle cells of the body to help repair damage and protect against deterioration.
The researchers said that the findings gave them a better understanding of an inherited connective tissue disorder called arterial tortuosity syndrome.
The study was published online in the journal Human Molecular Genetics on July 24 and has been highlighted as a “must read” paper by the influential “Faculty of 1000 Biology” research service.
The findings of the study may explain long-standing questions about how vitamin C enters mitochondria, which are the power centers of cells. Mitochondria provide the energy a cell needs to move, divide, produce secretory products and contract.
They are also known to take up and recycle vitamin C, but until now, the molecular mechanism of vitamin C uptake by mitochondria has been poorly understood.
The research team, led by Chen Yuan-tsong (陳垣崇), identified a carrier protein called GLUT 10, which is found predominantly in the mitochondria of smooth muscle cells and insulin-stimulated fat cells.
They found that GLUT 10 transports oxidized vitamin C to mitochondria, and also increases their uptake, which strengthens the cells’ ability to detoxify and repair damage.
These findings provide a mechanism to explain how vitamin C enters mitochondria and show how abnormalities in GLUT 10 may lead to the abnormalities found in arterial tortuosity syndrome, the researchers said.
The results also provide new insights into the relationship between GLUT 10 and type 2 diabetes and underline the importance of vitamin C in fighting degenerative diseases.
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