Endogenous drug-like factors

The discovery of opioid receptors and endogenous substances capable of specific binding to these receptors, i.e. endorphin and enkephalin, is one of the most spectacular indications suggesting that the presence of a receptor for a certain drug in the organism authenticates searching for an endogenous substances with high affinity at this receptor. Later, further studies were undertaken to detect other endogenous drug-like factors. Some experiments led to the discovery of digoxin-like factor in blood which could bind to a specific receptor on Na+, K(+)-ATPase subunit, showing also the affinity for cardiac glucosides. Digoxin-like factor was detected in blood of healthy people who did not receive any drug treatments. It has been estimated to be present in 15% of the population but in some diseases this value is much higher, e.g. digoxin-like factor was detected in 90% of patients with IDDM, and it can be used as a risk factor of the occurrence of vascular complications. In cases with NIDDM, the digoxin-like factor was detected in patients with insulin-resistance. The presence of digoxin-like factor was ascertained in patients with heart failure who did not take digitalis preparations. Endogenous digoxin-like factor can contribute to the detection of falsely increased digoxin blood concentrations during the monitoring of drug level in the course of the therapy. In our studies we ascertained the presence of the quinidine-, cyclosporin-, theophylline- and phenytoin-like substances in the blood of the healthy people who did not receive any drugs. It seems that these endogenous substances resembling drugs are synthesized in human organism when they are needed for maintaining the physiological equilibrium. We can suggest that stimulation of the production of drug-like factors in the organism can be used in the future in the therapy of some diseases.