Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Galkin O
PROVIDER: S-EPMC124280 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Galkin Oleg O Chen Kai K Nagel Ronald L RL Hirsch Rhoda Elison RE Vekilov Peter G PG
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20020617 13
We show that in solutions of human hemoglobin (Hb)--oxy- and deoxy-Hb A or S--of near-physiological pH, ionic strength, and Hb concentration, liquid-liquid phase separation occurs reversibly and reproducibly at temperatures between 35 and 40 degrees C. In solutions of deoxy-HbS, we demonstrate that the dense liquid droplets facilitate the nucleation of HbS polymers, whose formation is the primary pathogenic event for sickle cell anemia. In view of recent results that shifts of the liquid-liquid ...[more]