Very interesting Mark and very frightening. Unfortunately, I know little of the technology involved in SMTG's work. Somehow I imagine they would have discovered if this was a problem for their product by now. It should have been evident long before they began experimenting with human beings. Perhaps others with a better biochemical base than mine could comment on this. I have copied it below. Thank you.
>>Infect Immun 1997 Apr;65(4):1258-1266
Hemoglobin increases mortality from bacterial endotoxin.
Su D, Roth RI, Yoshida M, Levin J
Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California School of Medicine, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco 94121, USA.
Cell-free hemoglobin (Hb) is being developed as an erythrocyte substitute. We have previously demonstrated that cell-free Hb is an endotoxin-binding protein which disaggregates endotoxin and subsequently increases the biological activity of endotoxin in several in vitro assays. Because much of the morbidity and mortality associated with gram-negative bacterial infection is the result of pathophysiologic responses to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS; endotoxin), we studied the effect of Hb on LPS-mediated mortality. Hb infused intravenously into mice before, coincident with, or after intraperitoneal LPS injection substantially increased LPS-related mortality from LPS in the presence of Hb. Therefore, Hb-based blood substitutes, which are currently undergoing clinical trials, may intensify the potentially fatal effects of the sepsis syndrome in patients with trauma, infection, or hypotension who receive Hb for erythrocyte replacement. << |
