On the occurrence of two kinds of hæmoglobin in normal human blood

Abstract

IN the fifth chapter of Barcroft's book on haemoglobin he discusses its specificity, and suggests the possibility of more than one haemoglobin in the same blood, the differences being located in the globin part of the molecule. The curious change in "span" (i.e. the distance between the bands for oxy-and CO-hsemoglobin) in the blood of the same rabbit makes B arcr oft put the question, " Why and how should the globin of a rabbit's h&emoglobin alter on haemorrhage? "In limiting the problem to the unity and variability of hamoglobin in one kind of blood, especially in human blood, we find that most methods of research on the specificity of h&-moglobin are not sensitive enough to detect the presence of, say, 10 p.c. of a modified hamoglobin in 100 p.c. total. Only the estimation of the so-called alkali resistance, which gives enormous differences in blood of different species, might be sensitive enough. This paper describes the photo-electric measurement of the rate of denaturation of human h8Bmoglobin at pH about 12, as a means of differentiation between more than one kind of pigment in the same blood.METHOD. Von Kruger [1888, 1925, 1927], who first studied the rate of h&-moglobin denaturation in alkaline solutions ("Zersetzungszeit"), added 1/5 vol. N/4 NaOH to the solution of hemoglobin and measured the time from this moment to the visual disappearance of the typical absorption bands. In this way he found the very large differences in "Zersetzungszeit" in the haomoglobin of mammalian species, for instance for human blood 1 min., for rabbit's blood 30 min., for horse blood 80 mim., for ox blood 24 hours. A more exact study was made by Haurowitz PH. LXXX. 25

Some Properties of Human Fetal and Maternal Blood

“…(3) The pH8 from (1) and the total CO, from (2) determine one point on the CO2 dissociation curve of the blood in its original state; the pCO, of this point was determined from the line chart of Peters and Van Slyke (17). (4) The T4.…”

“…The earliest evidence of difference between fetal and maternal hemoglobin was the greater resistance to alkaline denaturation observed in the fetal hemoglobin (1,2,3). These workers calculated that adult blood contained up to 20 per cent of the alkaline-resistant hemoglobin, whereas fetal blood consisted almost wholly of the resistant type.…”

“…These workers calculated that adult blood contained up to 20 per cent of the alkaline-resistant hemoglobin, whereas fetal blood consisted almost wholly of the resistant type. Differences in crystal structure (2,3) have added to the evidence for difference in the hemoglobins. The property of fetal and maternal blood on which the greatest amount of work has been done is the oxygen affinity.…”

The Position of the Oxygen Dissociation Curve of the Blood in Normal Children and Adults 1

“…There have been reports in the literature, based chiefly on studies of resistance to alkali denaturation and of the rate of spreading of monomolecular layers on the surface of a liquid, to the effect that there are two different adult forms of hemoglobin (8,(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25). If such were the case, and if the two forms possessed different affinities for oxygen, the wide range of individual variation and the tendency toward increased affinity for oxygen in the blood of the adult could be explained by the varying proportions of the two forms.…”

Electrophoretic Studies of Red Cell Extracts of Stored Blood1

“…It will also be noted that these red cells are more readily hemolyzed than those of the control ACD blood. The addition of adenosine or inosine to ACD blood stored for 22 days is responsible for maintaining a prolonged, elevated component B concentration and for a decreased osmotic fragility.…”