Angelo D'Alessandro, Eric J Earley, Travis Nemkov, Daniel Stephenson, Monika Dzieciatkowska, Kirk C Hansen, Giampaolo Minetti, Benoit Champigneulle, Emeric Stauffer, Aurélien Pichon, Michael Furian, Samuel Verges, Steven Kleinman, Philip J Norris, Michael P Busch, Grier P Page, Lars Kaestner
Red blood cell (RBC) metabolic reprogramming upon exposure to high altitude contributes to physiological human adaptations to hypoxia, a multifaceted process critical to health and disease. To delve into the molecular underpinnings of this phenomenon, first, we performed a multi-omics analysis of RBCs from six lowlanders after exposure to high-altitude hypoxia, with longitudinal sampling at baseline, upon ascent to 5,100 m and descent to sea level. Results highlighted an association between erythrocyte levels of 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (BPG), an allosteric regulator of hemoglobin that favors oxygen off-loading in the face of hypoxia, and expression levels of the Rhesus blood group RHCE protein...
January 2, 2024: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America