New Enzymes for Universal Type ‘O’ Blood

Type O blood donors may not be the the only universal donors in the near future due to gut bacteria having the potential to transform type A and B blood into O blood. This could be a life saving service in events where Type O blood isn’t readily available.

Blood types are determined by the presence or absence of certain antigens - a toxin or other foreign substance which induces an immune response in the body, especially the production of antibodies.
Type A - A antigens on red blood cells, B antibodies in the plasma
Type B - B antigens on the red blood cells, A antibodies
Type AB - both A and B antigens on the red blood cells but neither A or B antibodies in the plasma
Type O - neither A or B antigens on the red blood cells and both A and B antibodies in the plasma

Our immune systems are individual and adapted to our blood types so receiving the wrong blood types brings life threatening risks. These red blood cells can enter our circulation in two different ways - blood transfusion or pregnancy. If this occurs the immune system will detect the foreign antigen, processes the antigens and responds by removing the antigen causing a transfusion reaction. However, this immune response varies from each individual.

Scientist Dr. Withers and his colleagues used the technique metagenomics to assess potential enzymes. They took all the organisms in the environment and extracted the total DNA of these organisms mixed together. By using a wide variety they were able to sample millions of microorganism without the need for individual culture. They then used E. coli to select the DNA with genes coding for the enzymes which split the sugar residues. In doing this the scientists found that some of these mucin sugars are similar in structure to the antigens of A and B blood cells and studied the enzymes the bacteria use to pluck the sugars off mucin and found a new family of enzymes 30 times more efficient than previously reported enzymes

Research has now found that certain enzymes from gut bacteria, in particular E.coli, can be used to eat away the antigens attached to A and B red blood cells and forming O blood cells. They extracted sugars from proteins on the gut wall, known as mucins, are able to add the enzymes  to type A negative blood and turn it into type O negative. This process is estimated to be 30 times faster, and is cost efficient in comparison to similar experiment taking place.

These findings are now working on being validated in hopes of being used at a larger scale in clinical trials.

Thank you for reading
Amanda Kadye

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2265/
http://mentalfloss.com/article/555371/bacteria-can-turn-type-and-b-blood-universal-type-o
http://mentalfloss.com/article/59644/how-blood-type-determined
http://www.sci-news.com/medicine/enzymes-turn-type-a-b-blood-into-universal-type-o-06324.html
https://bigthink.com/stephen-johnson/scientists-use-gut-bacteria-to-convert-any-blood-into-type-o
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2265/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3076326/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PTSD - A Psychodynamic Explanation

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder which you may develop after being involved in, or witnessing, traumatic events. The condition was first recognised in war veterans and has been known by a variety of names, such as 'shell shock'. PTSD can develop immediately after someone experiences a disturbing event, or it can occur weeks, months or even years later. Its estimated to affect about 1 in every 3 people who have a traumatic experience, but it's not clear exactly why some people develop the condition and others do not. There are many theories that could be used to explain this condition. Psychodynamic approaches to PTSD focus on a number of different factors that may influence or cause PTSD symptoms, such as early childhood experiences, current relationships and the things people do to protect themselves from upsetting thoughts and feelings that are the result of experiencing a traumatic event. The psychodynamic approach focuses mainly
Read more

Disparities in Global Eye Care

Vision is one of our most precious possessions. Multiple polls globally show that most people are more fearful of becoming blind than losing any other sense. (1,2) With sight being such a valuable asset, one would assume that eyecare is at the forefront of medical services across the world. Living in the developed world, we perhaps take for granted the simple and yet crucial services available to us such as regular eye tests, glasses, contact lenses and high-quality ophthalmic care - most of which can be accessed for free or at a subsidised price. However, in many parts of the world this is not the case. 285 million people worldwide are visually impaired, with 90% being from developing countries. (3) In China, for example, levels of blindness are increasing each year, however critically, rates of blindness have been reported at up to 4 times higher in the developing world as compared to more economically developed countries (4, 5). This is particularly worrying given that around 80% of
Read more

Do Contact Lenses Really “Support Your Vision”?

Image
Contact lenses have been frequently used as an alternative to glasses. Compared to the heavy-framed glasses in front of one’s eyes (optic glasses), thin plastic discs on the eye (contact lenses) help correct refractive errors in both myopic and hypermetropic users. The lens’ shape and power can be tailored to the user’s sight. A concave lens can be used to decrease myopia by reducing light refraction and increasing focal length so that the image is formed on the retina (1)  (Figure 1). Alternatively, a convex lens can be used to limit hypermetropia in an opposing mechanism to concave lenses (1) (Figure 1). Figure 1, An illustration of myopia and hyperopia and how adding lens of different shapes in front of the eye can be used to alter the refraction of light and correct each impairment in vision (10) Besides supporting sight, which both types of lenses can do, contact lenses confer some advantages that make them preferable to glasses. Unlike glasses, contact lenses are less likely to f
Read more