Every day, thousands of people need donated blood. But only blood without A- or B-type antigens, such as type O, can be given to all of those in need, and it’s usually in short supply. Now researchers are making strides toward fixing the situation. In the Journal of the American Chemical Society, they report an efficient way to transform blood types A and B into a neutral type that can be given to any patient.
Stephen G. Withers and colleagues note that currently, blood transfusions require that the blood type of the donor match that of the recipient.side effects, and could even die. Since blood type O can be
given to anyone because it doesn’t provoke an immune reaction, researchers have spent years searching for a way to convert types A and B into and unreactive type. Current methods of enzymatic removal of the terminal N-acetylgalactosamine or galactose, the sugars that distinguish blood type, are inefficient. Withers’s team investigated ways to boost the enzymes’ activity.
The researchers altered one of those enzymes and improved its ability to remove type-determining sugars by 170- fold, rendering it antigen-neutral and more likely to be accepted by patients, regardless of their blood type. In addition to making it easier to provide blood transfusions, the researchers say their advance could potentially allow organ and tissue transplants from donors who would otherwise be mismatched. Read more about the research: “Toward Efficient Enzymes for the Generation of Universal Blood through Structure-Guided Directed Evolution,” Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2015, 137 (17), pp 5695–5705.
REF: InChemistry Journal (ACS Publications)
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