Vitamin B 1 , also known as thiamine, is essential for the survival of our cells. The human body can't produce it, but we can maintain healthy levels of this vitamin by eating foods like salmon, legumes, and brown rice. Doing this is crucial, because B 1 deficiency can cause serious dysfunctions of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems, disability, and even death.
However, sometimes, B 1 deficiency may develop in the brain and other vital organs as a side effect of some drugs. This can happen despite normal B 1 levels in the blood, which often makes such deficiencies go undetected before it's too late. To understand what's behind such hidden deficiencies, the Löw Group at EMBL Hamburg and CSSB and collaborators at VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology used structural biology and biophysical techniques to investigate how vitamin B 1 travels in our body to reach different tissues, and what factors can hinder its progress.
Vitamin B 1 's hurdle run On its journey from the gut to the body's cells, vitamin B 1 must pass through several membranes, which act as barriers – starting with the gut wall, then blood vessels, organs, and finally, the membranes of individual cells. The most stringent of these is the blood-brain barrier, which seals the brain off from toxins that might enter from the bloodstream. However, the barrier also makes it difficult for essential nutrients, including vitamins, to cross.
To allow vitamins and other nutrients to reach cells throughout the .
