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Hemoglobin

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Hemoglobin (American English) or haemoglobin (British English) (Greek αἷμα (haîma, “blood”) + -in) + -o- + globulin (from Latin globus (“ball, sphere”) + -in) ( / ˈ h iː m ə ˌ ɡ l oʊ b ɪ n , ˈ h ɛ -, - m oʊ -/ ), abbreviated Hb or Hgb , is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells (erythrocytes) of almost all vertebrates (the exception being the fish family Channichthyidae) as well as the tissues of some invertebrates. Hemoglobin in blood carries oxygen from the lungs or gills to the rest of the body (i.e. the tissues). There it releases the oxygen to permit aerobic respiration to provide energy to power the functions of the organism in the process called metabolism. A healthy individual has 12 to 20 grams of hemoglobin in every 100 ml of blood. In mammals, the protein makes up about 96% of the red blood cells' dry content (by weight), and around 35% of the total content (including water). Hemoglobin has an oxygen-binding capacity of 1.34 mL O...

Research history

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In 1825 J. F. Engelhart discovered that the ratio of iron to protein is identical in the hemoglobins of several species. From the known atomic mass of iron he calculated the molecular mass of hemoglobin to n × 16000 ( n = number of iron atoms per hemoglobin, now known to be 4), the first determination of a protein's molecular mass. This "hasty conclusion" drew a lot of ridicule at the time from scientists who could not believe that any molecule could be that big. Gilbert Smithson Adair confirmed Engelhart's results in 1925 by measuring the osmotic pressure of hemoglobin solutions. The oxygen-carrying property of hemoglobin was discovered by Hünefeld in 1840. In 1851, German physiologist Otto Funke published a series of articles in which he described growing hemoglobin crystals by successively diluting red blood cells with a solvent such as pure water, alcohol or ether, followed by slow evaporation of the solvent from the resulting protein solution. Hemoglobin's ...

Genetics

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Hemoglobin consists of protein subunits (the "globin" molecules), and these proteins, in turn, are folded chains of a large number of different amino acids called polypeptides. The amino acid sequence of any polypeptide created by a cell is in turn determined by the stretches of DNA called genes. In all proteins, it is the amino acid sequence that determines the protein's chemical properties and function. There is more than one hemoglobin gene: in humans, hemoglobin A (the main form of hemoglobin present) is coded for by the genes, HBA1 , HBA2 , and HBB . The amino acid sequences of the globin proteins in hemoglobins usually differ between species. These differences grow with evolutionary distance between species. For example, the most common hemoglobin sequences in humans, bonobos and chimpanzees are completely identical, without even single amino acid difference in either the alpha or the beta globin protein chains. Whereas the human and gorilla hemoglobin differ in one...

Synthesis

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Hemoglobin (Hb) is synthesized in a complex series of steps. The heme part is synthesized in a series of steps in the mitochondria and the cytosol of immature red blood cells, while the globin protein parts are synthesized by ribosomes in the cytosol. Production of Hb continues in the cell throughout its early development from the proerythroblast to the reticulocyte in the bone marrow. At this point, the nucleus is lost in mammalian red blood cells, but not in birds and many other species. Even after the loss of the nucleus in mammals, residual ribosomal RNA allows further synthesis of Hb until the reticulocyte loses its RNA soon after entering the vasculature (this hemoglobin-synthetic RNA in fact gives the reticulocyte its reticulated appearance and name).

Structure of heme

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Hemoglobin has a quaternary structure characteristic of many multi-subunit globular proteins. Most of the amino acids in hemoglobin form alpha helices, and these helices are connected by short non-helical segments. Hydrogen bonds stabilize the helical sections inside this protein, causing attractions within the molecule, which then causes each polypeptide chain to fold into a specific shape. Hemoglobin's quaternary structure comes from its four subunits in roughly a tetrahedral arrangement. In most vertebrates, the hemoglobin molecule is an assembly of four globular protein subunits. Each subunit is composed of a protein chain tightly associated with a non-protein prosthetic heme group. Each protein chain arranges into a set of alpha-helix structural segments connected together in a globin fold arrangement. Such a name is given because this arrangement is the same folding motif used in other heme/globin proteins such as myoglobin. This folding pattern contains a pocket that strongl...

Evolution of vertebrate hemoglobin

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Scientists agree that the event that separated myoglobin from hemoglobin occurred after lampreys diverged from jawed vertebrates. This separation of myoglobin and hemoglobin allowed for the different functions of the two molecules to arise and develop: myoglobin has more to do with oxygen storage while hemoglobin is tasked with oxygen transport. The α- and β-like globin genes encode the individual subunits of the protein. The predecessors of these genes arose through another duplication event also after the gnathosome common ancestor derived from jawless fish, approximately 450–500 million years ago. The development of α and β genes created the potential for hemoglobin to be composed of multiple subunits, a physical composition central to hemoglobin's ability to transport oxygen. Having multiple subunits contributes to hemoglobin's ability to bind oxygen cooperatively as well as be regulated allosterically. Subsequently, the α gene also underwent a duplication event to form the...

Iron's oxidation state in oxyhemoglobin

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Assigning oxygenated hemoglobin's oxidation state is difficult because oxyhemoglobin (Hb-O 2 ), by experimental measurement, is diamagnetic (no net unpaired electrons), yet the lowest-energy (ground-state) electron configurations in both oxygen and iron are paramagnetic (suggesting at least one unpaired electron in the complex). The lowest-energy form of oxygen, and the lowest energy forms of the relevant oxidation states of iron, are these: Triplet oxygen, the lowest-energy molecular oxygen species, has two unpaired electrons in antibonding π* molecular orbitals. Iron(II) tends to exist in a high-spin 3d6 configuration with four unpaired electrons. Iron(III) (3d5) has an odd number of electrons, and thus must have one or more unpaired electrons, in any energy state. All of these structures are paramagnetic (have unpaired electrons), not diamagnetic. Thus, a non-intuitive (e.g., a higher-energy for at least one species) distribution of electrons in the combination of iron and oxy...

Cooperativity

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When oxygen binds to the iron complex, it causes the iron atom to move back toward the center of the plane of the porphyrin ring (see moving diagram). At the same time, the imidazole side-chain of the histidine residue interacting at the other pole of the iron is pulled toward the porphyrin ring. This interaction forces the plane of the ring sideways toward the outside of the tetramer, and also induces a strain in the protein helix containing the histidine as it moves nearer to the iron atom. This strain is transmitted to the remaining three monomers in the tetramer, where it induces a similar conformational change in the other heme sites such that binding of oxygen to these sites becomes easier. As oxygen binds to one monomer of hemoglobin, the tetramer's conformation shifts from the T (tense) state to the R (relaxed) state. This shift promotes the binding of oxygen to the remaining three monomer's heme groups, thus saturating the hemoglobin molecule with oxygen. In the tetram...

Binding for ligands other than oxygen

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Besides the oxygen ligand, which binds to hemoglobin in a cooperative manner, hemoglobin ligands also include competitive inhibitors such as carbon monoxide (CO) and allosteric ligands such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitric oxide (NO). The carbon dioxide is bound to amino groups of the globin proteins to form carbaminohemoglobin; this mechanism is thought to account for about 10% of carbon dioxide transport in mammals. Nitric oxide can also be transported by hemoglobin; it is bound to specific thiol groups in the globin protein to form an S-nitrosothiol, which dissociates into free nitric oxide and thiol again, as the hemoglobin releases oxygen from its heme site. This nitric oxide transport to peripheral tissues is hypothesized to assist oxygen transport in tissues, by releasing vasodilatory nitric oxide to tissues in which oxygen levels are low. Competitive edit The binding of oxygen is affected by molecules such as carbon monoxide (for example, from tobacco smoking, exhaust gas, ...

Types in humans

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Hemoglobin variants are a part of the normal embryonic and fetal development. They may also be pathologic mutant forms of hemoglobin in a population, caused by variations in genetics. Some well-known hemoglobin variants, such as sickle-cell anemia, are responsible for diseases and are considered hemoglobinopathies. Other variants cause no detectable pathology, and are thus considered non-pathological variants. In the embryo: Gower 1 (ζ 2 ε 2 ) Gower 2 (α 2 ε 2 ) ( PDB: 1A9W ​) Hemoglobin Portland I (ζ 2 γ 2 ) Hemoglobin Portland II (ζ 2 β 2 ). In the fetus: Hemoglobin F (α 2 γ 2 ) ( PDB: 1FDH ​). After birth: Hemoglobin A (adult hemoglobin) (α 2 β 2 ) ( PDB: 1BZ0 ​) – The most common with a normal amount over 95% Hemoglobin A 2 (α 2 δ 2 ) – δ chain synthesis begins late in the third trimester and, in adults, it has a normal range of 1.5–3.5% Hemoglobin F (fetal hemoglobin) (α 2 γ 2 ) – In adults Hemoglobin F is restricted to a limited population of red cells called F-cells. Howev...

Degradation in vertebrate animals

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When red blood cells reach the end of their life due to aging or defects, they are removed from the circulation by the phagocytic activity of macrophages in the spleen or the liver or hemolyze within the circulation. Free hemoglobin is then cleared from the circulation via the hemoglobin transporter CD163, which is exclusively expressed on monocytes or macrophages. Within these cells the hemoglobin molecule is broken up, and the iron gets recycled. This process also produces one molecule of carbon monoxide for every molecule of heme degraded. Heme degradation is one of the few natural sources of carbon monoxide in the human body, and is responsible for the normal blood levels of carbon monoxide even in people breathing air. citation needed The other major final product of heme degradation is bilirubin. Increased levels of this chemical are detected in the blood if red blood cells are being destroyed more rapidly than usual. Improperly degraded hemoglobin protein or hemoglobin that ha...

Role in disease

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Hemoglobin deficiency can be caused either by a decreased amount of hemoglobin molecules, as in anemia, or by decreased ability of each molecule to bind oxygen at the same partial pressure of oxygen. Hemoglobinopathies (genetic defects resulting in abnormal structure of the hemoglobin molecule) may cause both. In any case, hemoglobin deficiency decreases blood oxygen-carrying capacity. Hemoglobin deficiency is, in general, strictly distinguished from hypoxemia, defined as decreased partial pressure of oxygen in blood, although both are causes of hypoxia (insufficient oxygen supply to tissues). Other common causes of low hemoglobin include loss of blood, nutritional deficiency, bone marrow problems, chemotherapy, kidney failure, or abnormal hemoglobin (such as that of sickle-cell disease). The ability of each hemoglobin molecule to carry oxygen is normally modified by altered blood pH or CO 2 , causing an altered oxygen–hemoglobin dissociation curve. However, it can also be pathological...

Diagnostic uses

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Hemoglobin concentration measurement is among the most commonly performed blood tests, usually as part of a complete blood count. For example, it is typically tested before or after blood donation. Results are reported in g/L, g/dL or mol/L. 1 g/dL equals about 0.6206 mmol/L, although the latter units are not used as often due to uncertainty regarding the polymeric state of the molecule. This conversion factor, using the single globin unit molecular weight of 16,000 Da, is more common for hemoglobin concentration in blood. For MCHC (mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration) the conversion factor 0.155, which uses the tetramer weight of 64,500 Da, is more common. Normal levels are: Men: 13.8 to 18.0 g/dL (138 to 180 g/L, or 8.56 to 11.17 mmol/L) Women: 12.1 to 15.1 g/dL (121 to 151 g/L, or 7.51 to 9.37 mmol/L) Children: 11 to 16 g/dL (110 to 160 g/L, or 6.83 to 9.93 mmol/L) Pregnant women: 11 to 14 g/dL (110 to 140 g/L, or 6.83 to 8.69 mmol/L) (9.5 to 15 usual value during pregnancy...

Athletic tracking and self tracking uses

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Hemoglobin can be tracked noninvasively, to build an individual data set tracking the hemoconcentration and hemodilution effects of daily activities for better understanding of sports performance and training. Athletes are often concerned about endurance and intensity of exercise. The sensor uses light-emitting diodes that emit red and infrared light through the tissue to a light detector, which then sends a signal to a processor to calculate the absorption of light by the hemoglobin protein. This sensor is similar to a pulse oximeter, which consists of a small sensing device that clips to the finger.

Analogues in non-vertebrate organisms

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A variety of oxygen-transport and -binding proteins exist in organisms throughout the animal and plant kingdoms. Organisms including bacteria, protozoans, and fungi all have hemoglobin-like proteins whose known and predicted roles include the reversible binding of gaseous ligands. Since many of these proteins contain globins and the heme moiety (iron in a flat porphyrin support), they are often called hemoglobins, even if their overall tertiary structure is very different from that of vertebrate hemoglobin. In particular, the distinction of "myoglobin" and hemoglobin in lower animals is often impossible, because some of these organisms do not contain muscles. Or, they may have a recognizable separate circulatory system but not one that deals with oxygen transport (for example, many insects and other arthropods). In all these groups, heme/globin-containing molecules (even monomeric globin ones) that deal with gas-binding are referred to as oxyhemoglobins. In addition to dealin...

Other oxygen-binding proteins

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Myoglobin Found in the muscle tissue of many vertebrates, including humans, it gives muscle tissue a distinct red or dark gray color. It is very similar to hemoglobin in structure and sequence, but is not a tetramer; instead, it is a monomer that lacks cooperative binding. It is used to store oxygen rather than transport it. Hemocyanin The second most common oxygen-transporting protein found in nature, it is found in the blood of many arthropods and molluscs. Uses copper prosthetic groups instead of iron heme groups and is blue in color when oxygenated. Hemerythrin Some marine invertebrates and a few species of annelid use this iron-containing non-heme protein to carry oxygen in their blood. Appears pink/violet when oxygenated, clear when not. Chlorocruorin Found in many annelids, it is very similar to erythrocruorin, but the heme group is significantly different in structure. Appears green when deoxygenated and red when oxygenated. Vanabins Also known as vanadium chromagens , the...

Presence in nonerythroid cells

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Some nonerythroid cells (i.e., cells other than the red blood cell line) contain hemoglobin. In the brain, these include the A9 dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, astrocytes in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, and in all mature oligodendrocytes. It has been suggested that brain hemoglobin in these cells may enable the "storage of oxygen to provide a homeostatic mechanism in anoxic conditions, which is especially important for A9 DA neurons that have an elevated metabolism with a high requirement for energy production". It has been noted further that "A9 dopaminergic neurons may be at particular risk since in addition to their high mitochondrial activity they are under intense oxidative stress caused by the production of hydrogen peroxide via autoxidation and/or monoamine oxidase (MAO)-mediated deamination of dopamine and the subsequent reaction of accessible ferrous iron to generate highly toxic hydroxyl radicals". This may explain the risk of these c...

In history, art and music

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Historically, an association between the color of blood and rust occurs in the association of the planet Mars, with the Roman god of war, since the planet is an orange-red, which reminded the ancients of blood. Although the color of the planet is due to iron compounds in combination with oxygen in the Martian soil, it is a common misconception that the iron in hemoglobin and its oxides gives blood its red color. The color is actually due to the porphyrin moiety of hemoglobin to which the iron is bound, not the iron itself, although the ligation and redox state of the iron can influence the pi to pi* or n to pi* electronic transitions of the porphyrin and hence its optical characteristics. Artist Julian Voss-Andreae created a sculpture called Heart of Steel (Hemoglobin) in 2005, based on the protein's backbone. The sculpture was made from glass and weathering steel. The intentional rusting of the initially shiny work of art mirrors hemoglobin's fundamental chemical reaction of ...

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