Universal Blood
Intestinal bacteria will make any donated blood universal
Sergey Vasiliev, Naked Science
Whatever disaster happens, the victims need blood for transfusion, best of all group I (0 according to the AB0 system), suitable for transfusion to all those in need. It can be obtained from the blood of any group: in the bacteria of the intestinal microflora, scientists have found enzymes that "purify" red blood cells and make donor blood universal. This was announced at the 256th National Meeting and Exhibition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) he told me Stephen Withers from the Canadian University of British Columbia (Gut bacteria provide the key to making universal blood).
Depending on the inherited set of genes, our red blood cells can carry proteins connected to specific carbohydrates on the surface – glycoproteins (A- and B-agglutinogens). Unfamiliar glycoproteins of donated blood can be recognized by the immune system, causing red blood cells to clump together. A few years ago, scientists have already shown that the blood of any group can be turned into the first by treating it with enzymes-hydrolases that remove carbohydrate residues from glycoproteins. This deprives erythrocytes of A- and B-agglutinogens, transferring blood to group I.
Unfortunately, until now, such a transformation has not been effective enough to be able to talk about practical application. An important step towards this was the new work of Steven Withers and his colleagues, who managed to isolate hydrolases of intestinal bacteria that act an order of magnitude better than previous variants. Interestingly, at first the search was conducted among the enzymes of mosquitoes and leeches, animals capable of digesting blood, but the decision came from an unexpected side.
The intestinal mucosa is very rich in mucins – like blood agglutinogens, these are proteins associated with carbohydrate residues (glycoproteins). Many of the microbes living here, which help our digestion, are able to fix themselves on mucins and feed on these molecules, which gave hope that they are able to destroy the agglutinogens of red blood cells. Without trying to work with different types of bacteria separately, scientists obtained common DNA from a sample of intestinal microflora, from which genes and groups of genes were isolated, transferred them to laboratory strains of E. coli and looked at which of the bacteria would show the necessary activity.
Having studied hundreds of GM colonies, the authors found among them those that were able to remove agglutinogens from red blood cells, and even then they identified the genes and proteins working for them. The effectiveness of some of these enzymes turned out to be 30 times higher than that of the previously found protein. Of course, before such tools are in the hands of doctors, numerous studies and clinical trials are ahead, but a new step towards turning any blood into universal right in the hospital, there and when people need it has been made.
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