Can ‘toxic’ bilirubin treat a variety of illnesses?

Generations of medical and biology students have been instilled with a dim view of bilirubin. Spawned when the body trashes old red blood cells, the molecule is harmful refuse and a sign of illness. High blood levels cause jaundice, which turns the eyes and skin yellow and can signal liver trouble. Newborns can’t process the compound, and although high levels normally subside, a persistent surplus can cause brain damage. Yet later this year up to 40 healthy Australian volunteers may begin receiving infusions of the supposedly good-for-nothing molecule. They will be participating in a phase 1 safety trial, sponsored by the South Korean company Bilix, that could pave the way for testing bilirubin as a treatment in organ transplant recipients and patients with conditions such as multiple sclerosis and stroke. The company’s ambitions reflect a new view of bilirubin that emerged as researchers amassed lab, animal, and epidemiological data suggesting it plays a vital role in the body as a fierce antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. “There’s lots of levels of evidence that it’s more than just a metabolic waste product,” says molecular epidemiologist Laura Horsfall of University College London. Bilirubin naturally arises when the spleen and other parts of the body dispose of heme, the core of the hemoglobin molecule in red blood cells. Heme is highly toxic; bilirubin, the breakdown product in mammals, is less so. Each week the average person generates abou...
Source: ScienceNOW - Category: Science Source Type: news