Observations on the effect of CO2 and temperature on the sickling phenomenon

The explanation of the effect of CO2 on the sickling phenomenon has, in the past, been based solely on the alteration of the oxygen affinity of haemoglobin induced by the CO2, and hence solely on the oxygen saturation of the haemoglobin. A re-investigation of this phenomenon, reported here, shows that this explanation is inadequate; rather, a full explanation requires the use of Perutz's hypothesis that the haemoglobin molecule can exist in various conformationally distinct states, the relative concentrations of which are dependent not only on the oxygen saturation of the molecules but also on other factors such as pH and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) concentration. The effect of temperature on the sickling phenomenon is explained in a similar fashion. Low temperature is found to have no effect on the morphology of irreversibly sickled cells.