救命創(chuàng)新——可轉換血型的新方法

7月，美國紅十字會緊急宣布血庫存留告急——根本沒有足夠的獻血來幫助所有需要輸血的病人。

Now, researchers from the University of British Columbia may have found a way to address the problem, even if people aren't donating more: convert a less-usable blood type into one that anyone can receive.

現(xiàn)在，不列顛哥倫比亞大學的研究人員可能已經(jīng)找到了解決問題的方法，哪怕沒有足夠獻血者：將不太可用的血型轉換為對任何人都可以接受的血型。

They presented their research on Tuesday at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

他們上周二在美國化學學會會議上展示了他們的研究成果。

Blood types are different because of the sugars on the surface of the red blood cells the body creates. Type A has one type of sugar and Type B has another; Type AB has both sugars. Type O doesn't have any sugars.

紅細胞表面的糖分子類型決定了不同的血型。A型有一種糖，B型有另一種;AB型同時含有兩種糖。O型沒有任何糖。

If a person receives a blood transfusion of a blood type that's not their own, their immune system will attack and kill the donated blood cells.

如果一個人接受了與自己血型不符的輸血，因為糖分子類型不正確，免疫系統(tǒng)將攻擊并殺死外來的血細胞。

For example, a person with Type A blood could never receive a Type B donation .

例如，A型血的人永遠不能接受B型獻血。

Because Type O blood doesn't carry any sugars, anyone can receive it - it's the universally accepted blood type and, therefore, highly desirable.

因為O型紅血球不攜帶糖，所以任何人都可以接受它——普遍接受的血型，非常有價值。

In the past, researchers figured out that certain enzymes (molecules that cause chemical reactions) could remove the sugars from A, B, and AB blood cells, converting them into the more useful Type O.

在過去，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)某些酶可以從A，B和AB型血細胞中去除糖分子，將它們轉化為更有用的O型血。

However, as researcher Stephen Withers noted in a press release, they hadn't yet discovered an enzyme that was efficient, safe, and economical. Their search for that enzyme took them into the human gut.

然而，正如研究員Stephen Withers在新聞稿中指出的那樣，他們那時還沒有找到一種高效、安全和經(jīng)濟的酶。他們反復試驗，最終將目光瞄準了人體腸道。

Withers and his team already knew that the lining of the digestive tract contained the same sugars found on blood cells, and that bacterial enzymes within human feces stripped those sugars from the lining to power digestion.

Withers和他的團隊知道，消化道的內(nèi)層含有與血細胞相同的糖，人體糞便中的細菌酶將這些糖從粘膜上剝離，消化成為能量。

Using this knowledge, the researchers were able to isolate an enzyme that strips the sugars from A and B blood types, transforming them into Type O 30 times more efficiently than any previously discovered enzyme.

利用這些知識，研究人員最終分離出一種從A型和B型血液中去除糖類的酶，其轉化效率比以前發(fā)現(xiàn)的任何酶都要高出30倍。

For now the researchers are double-checking their findings. The next step would then be to test the enzyme in a clinical setting, which will help determine if the conversion process produces any unintended consequences.

目前，研究人員正在仔細審查他們的研究結果。下一步是在臨床環(huán)境中測試該酶，這將有助于確定轉化過程是否會產(chǎn)生意外的后果。

All that extra testing could still take some time. But Withers is optimistic that his team's enzyme could be just the breakthrough we need to ensure anyone who needs a blood donation in the future will be able to receive one.

完成所有測試需要一些時間。但Withers樂觀地認為，他們團隊發(fā)現(xiàn)的酶可以改善當前血液供應情況，使醫(yī)用血源不足成為過去式。