Oxygen-Hemoglobulin Dissociation Curves: Effect of Inherited Enzyme Defects of the Red Cell

Abstract

The blood of a patient with a deficiency of hexokinase in the red cells and a decreased concentration of 2, 3-diphosphoglycerate in the red cells showed an increased affinity for oxygen, whereas a patient with a deficiency of pyruvate kinase and an elevated concentration of 2, 3-diphosphoglycerate in the red cells had blood with a decreased affinity for oxygen. Defects in red cell glycolysis may alter the oxygen affinity of blood by virtue of their effect on 2, 3-diphosphoglycerate concentrations in red cells.