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Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Measurement of Heme Synthesis Levels in Mammalian Cells
Published on: July 9, 2015
The control of oxygen affinity in the three human embryonic haemoglobins by respiration linked metabolites
O M Hofmann1, T Brittain, R M Wells
1School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Abstract:
The effect of CO2, ATP and lactate ions on the oxygen affinity of the three human embryonic haemoglobins have been studied. CO2 lowers the affinity of both the adult and embryonic haemoglobins for oxygen, as does ATP. The ATP effect follows a simple binding process with an equilibrium constant in the mM range. Lactate ions have no effect on the oxygen equilibrium process, over the concentration range studied. These findings are discussed in terms of the likely physiological conditions experienced by human embryonic red blood cells.
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