In a presentation at the ACS meeting yesterday (Aug. 20), Withers shared study results showing that enzymes made with DNA extracted from human-gut microbes could remove type A and B antigens from red blood cells.
The researchers found these enzymes with a method called metagenomics. Instead of culturing microbe after microbe in a painstaking process, the research team simply extracted DNA from all the microorganisms found in the human gut. So, in one fell swoop, they grabbed the DNA blueprints for everything those microorganisms might make — including, it turned out, enzymes that help the bacteria pluck sugar-studded proteins called mucins off the walls of the digestive tract. (The bacteria eat these mucins.)
Molecularly speaking, mucins are a lot like blood cell antigens, so the enzymes can perform double duty, Withers and his team found. What's more, these enzymes were 30 times more effective at stripping off A antigens than the best-performing enzyme previously suggested for this purpose, Withers reported. And after the antigen stripping is completed, any leftover enzyme can be easily removed from the red blood cells with a simple washing step, he said.
