Abstract
So far there has been no report in the literature suggesting that the chemical composition of the red blood cell changes during the life of an adult healthy human. We have now obtained evidence that in a normal population the red cell concentration of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) decreases with advancing age. 2,3-DPG is an intermediary metabolite in the Embden–Meyerhof glycolytic pathway in the red cells, which affects haemoglobin affinity for oxygen. Elevated concentration of 2,3-DPG decreases the affinity and thus increases the fraction of haemoglobin-bound oxygen available to the tissues, and decreased concentration of 2,3-DPG has the opposite effect1,2. In general, an increase in the red cell 2,3-DPG is found in response to hypoxia or anaemia and a decrease of 2,3-DPG is caused by acidosis3,4.
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PURCELL, Y., BROZOVIĆ, B. Red cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate concentration in man decreases with age. Nature 251, 511–512 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/251511a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/251511a0
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