Two new blood types identified
Scientists have discovered the two proteins in
red blood cells that cause the rare Langereis and Junior blood types, Science Daily reported Thursday.
“Only 30 proteins have previously been identified as responsible for a
basic blood type,“ University of Vermont biologist Bryan Ballif says, “but the count now reaches 32.”
Ballif and his colleagues identified the two
molecules as specialized transport proteins ABCB6 and ABCG2, identifying the
molecular basis for the two newest blood types.
He says this knowledge can be “a matter of life and death” when it
comes to organ transplant or blood transfusion.
Sometimes the body rejects a newly transplanted tissue or blood, even though
the blood types might match, leading to complications or even death.
The rejection is often caused by the way the immune system distinguishes self
from not-self.
“If our own blood cells don’t have these proteins, they’re
not familiar to our immune system,” Ballif
explains. This causes the body to define the new blood/tissue as
“not-self,” then the body develops antibodies against it, killing
the “invaders.”
He says these unexplained rejections in the rare blood types may have to do
with newly discovered proteins. While the blood types were identified decades
ago, the genetic basis had been unidentified until now, meaning some people
never knew if they had a positive or negative blood type. This often led to
blood transfusion problems or mother-fetus incompatibility.
However, with these findings, it will be much easier for doctors to recognize
patients with these rare blood types.
According to Ballif, they are found in only certain
ethnicities, with more than 50,000 Japanese believed to be Junior
negative.
In addition, both of the new-found proteins were associated with anticancer
drug resistance, which could have implications for improved cancer treatment.
Langereis and Junior have yet to be recognized by the
International Blood Transfusion Society, which recognizes twenty-eight
additional blood types other than ABO and Rhesus (Rh),
such as Duffy, Kidd, Diego and Lutheran.
Ballif’s team is searching for more unknown
blood types, where they cannot identify the protein causing complications.
These other blood types are extremely rare, but he says it’s important to
identify them because “if you’re that one individual, and you need
a transfusion there’s nothing more important for you to know.”
The Source: The Korea Herald