Posted on 10/27/2022 8:19:02 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
Scientists have discovered a mechanism by which an area of a protein shape-shifts to convert vitamin A into a form usable by the eye's light-sensing photoreceptor cells. A previously uncharacterized area of the protein known as RPE65 spontaneously turns spiral-shaped when it encounters intracellular membranes, or thin structures that surround different parts of a cell.
This shapeshifting enables RPE65 to enter the endoplasmic reticulum—a network of sac-like structures and tubes—where RPE65 performs the crucial task of vitamin A conversion.
Vision occurs when light hits photoreceptor pigments called opsins, triggering a series of chemical reactions that generate signals to the brain. The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a support tissue next to the photoreceptors, recharges opsins to restore their sensitivity to light. In a process known as the visual cycle, RPE65 is essential to convert the spent vitamin A derivative all-trans retinol, back into photosensitive 11-cis retinal. Mutations in the RPE65 gene are associated with early-onset severe blinding disorders.
Interaction of RPE65 with the RPE cell's endoplasmic reticulum is essential to making 11-cis retinal, but the mechanism by which RPE65 binds to the endoplasmic reticulum membrane was until now a mystery.
The NEI team discovered that in aqueous solution, a specific region of RPE65 lacks structure, but when it encounters membranes, it spontaneously forms an amphipathic alpha-helix—a special sort of spiral shape in proteins. This change enables RPE65 it to bind to the RPE cells' endoplasmic reticulum membrane where 11-cis retinal is produced from all-trans retinol.
More than that, when a single specific amino acid within the previously uncharacterized region of RPE65 was modified by a specific lipid, it greatly expedited the formation of the alpha-helix, "locking" it into place, and facilitating its insertion into the cell membrane. This was something never seen before in a protein, according to Uppal.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Maybe what they possess in eyesight they lack in brain power.
It’s not their eyes but their rodent brains that are faulty when it comes to evading traffic.
You said in post #17 you’ve been “taking 500mg daily.”
Is it 500 mg or 2,000 mg?
I had to discontinue glycine due to severe breakthrough heartburn. DRAT!!!😡 Found the comment of one other person reporting the same thing. Besides the presumed glutathione - related benefits, it did work as a sedative also, until I woke up from heartburn! Will be looking for another form which might not do this. Taking with / without food made no difference.
What dose did you take and did you take the same amount of NAC?
I made a mistake.
I thought that my taurine was 500 mg pills.
Turns out they are 1000 mg pills.
I always take taurine at night as part of my evening stack. It serves as a sleep aid.
Some nights I take a second set of sleep aid supplements including taurine and glycine —and others.
One gram or two grams at a time and approximately the same amount of NAC (1200 or 1800 mg). Still taking the NAC.
Consider simply taking 500 - 600 mg of each, at a time.
Space them apart by a few hours for added doses.
Yes, I was going to try that but it will be hard to work up to an adequate amount per day.
When your body doesn’t have a need for that much glutathione, it lets the glycine and NAC float around to do “other things.”
For you, some of those “other things” sound unhelpful.
Definitely, excess glycine can make people sleepy.
Since our cells can only convert so much glutathione at a time, you just need to tone it down a bit.
An “adequate amount” for someone young may be “none at all.”
All this is doing is filling in for a process that becomes more broken as we age.
You may think you need “more,” but if your body tells you it can’t convert it all to glutathione, your body thinks it has enough. Glutathione lasts a few hours.
This is not a case where “more is better,” unless your body is in desperate need of it, then more cells can do more with the components.
Look into taurine for SOD help, but low dose that, too.
Only 80 year olds can effectively use a lot more at a time, and they need to dose it multiple times through the day.
What makes you think you need “more?”
do NAC and vitamin a work independently to improve the eyes or do they work together to improve the eyes.
Started taking Glutathione years ago.Helped with a lot of problems.
When granddaughter had gut problems she took it, helped her immensely.
I take Now brand 250 mg.
https://drhyman.com/blog/2010/05/19/glutathione-the-mother-of-all-antioxidants/
(GlyNAC) at three different daily doses for 2 weeks (low dose: 2.4 g, medium dose: 4.8 g, or high dose: 7.2 g/day, 1:1 ratio)
Nestle bought the patent rights to sell GlyNAC, and their retail dose is 1,200 mg of GlyNAC (600 mg of glycine and 600 mg of NAC a dose), twice a day, meeting the low daily tested amount of 2,400 mg of GlyNAC a day.
Knowing glutathione can last only a few hours, my wife and I broke this down to three times a day, 1,200 mg of GlyNAC each time, making what we take as 3,600 mg of GlyNAC a day (1,800 mg of glycine and 1,800 mg of NAC).
From Lizzo:
A powder blend of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and glycine was tested at three different daily doses: 2.4 g of actives (1.2 g NAC + 1.2 g glycine), 4.8 g of actives (2.4 g NAC + 2.4 g glycine), and 7.2 g of actives (3.6 g NAC + 3.6 g glycine) per day. Each dosage was split into two doses consumed in the morning and in the evening.
Only the middle and high doses achieved a statistically significant increase in glutathione, and that was only in older subjects who were low to begin with.
The Lizzo study only tested GlyNAC for two weeks. Other studies have used it in humans for 24 weeks, and these older people incrementally got better the whole time.
If someone does not have a problem with making enough glycine or cysteine, additional GlyNAC is not going to help much.
Thankfully, it’s cheap and the amino acids have other duties to perform.
I stand corrected. The young adults only had GlyNAC for two weeks, but the older adults did for 16 weeks. The older adults saw great benefit already at the 2 week mark, which no young adult got, but they were already young and healthy.
On the study from last year, the older adults took it 24 weeks and they did see some benefits last twelve weeks after the last dose, but other indicators went nearly back to normal.
Both of these show GlyNAC needs to be taken consistently to give older adults the young adult health advantage.
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