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A team of researchers headed by University of British Columbia scientist Stephen Withers reports on enzymes — from the human gut — that remove A or B antigens from red blood cells 30 times more efficiently than previously reported enzymes.
“We have been particularly interested in enzymes that allow us to remove the A or B antigens from red blood cells. If you can remove those antigens, which are just simple sugars, then you can convert A or B to O blood,” Dr. Withers said.
“Scientists have pursued the idea of adjusting donated blood to a common type for a while, but they have yet to find efficient, selective enzymes that are also safe and economical.”
To assess potential enzyme candidates more quickly, Dr. Withers and colleagues used a technique called metagenomics.
“With metagenomics, you take all of the organisms from an environment and extract the sum total DNA of those organisms all mixed up together,” Dr. Withers said.
“Casting such a wide net allows us to sample the genes of millions of microorganisms without the need for individual cultures.”
“We have been particularly interested in enzymes that allow us to remove the A or B antigens from red blood cells. If you can remove those antigens, which are just simple sugars, then you can convert A or B to O blood,” Dr. Withers said.
“Scientists have pursued the idea of adjusting donated blood to a common type for a while, but they have yet to find efficient, selective enzymes that are also safe and economical.”
To assess potential enzyme candidates more quickly, Dr. Withers and colleagues used a technique called metagenomics.
“With metagenomics, you take all of the organisms from an environment and extract the sum total DNA of those organisms all mixed up together,” Dr. Withers said.
“Casting such a wide net allows us to sample the genes of millions of microorganisms without the need for individual cultures.”
Newly Found Enzymes Can Help Turn Type A and B Blood into Universal Type O | Sci.News
A team of researchers headed by University of British Columbia scientist Stephen Withers reports on enzymes -- from the human gut -- that remove A or B antigens from red blood cells 30 times more efficiently than previously reported enzymes.
www.sci-news.com
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