TRANSPLANTING FUNCTIONAL-PROPERTIES FROM BOVINE INTO HUMAN HEMOGLOBIN

Bovine hemoglobin (Hb) has been proposed as a potential blood substitu te because of its low intrinsic oxygen affinity in the absence of chlo ride anions and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate. The use of bovine blood as a s ource of Hb does not eliminate the risks of viral infections. Biotechn ology techniques allow to produce modified recombinant Hbs. We have en gineered human Hb mutants with the aim of mimicking the functional pro perties of bovine Hb. The argument for this work resides in the crista llographic studies and in the comparison of human and bovine beta glob in sequences. The mutant recombinant Hbs exhibit the heterotropic effe cts of bovine Hb do not exhibit the low intrinsic oxygen affinity of b ovine Hb.