![]() The last new blood group proteins to be discovered were nearly a decade ago, Ballif says, "so it's pretty remarkable to have two identified this year."īoth of the newly identified proteins are also associated with anticancer drug resistance, so the findings may also have implications for improved treatment of breast and other cancers.Īs part of the international effort, Ballif, assistant professor in the biology department, used a mass spectrometer at UVM funded by the Vermont Genetics Network. "Only 30 proteins have previously been identified as responsible for a basic blood type," Ballif notes, "but the count now reaches 32." In the February issue of Nature Genetics, Ballif and his colleagues report on their discovery of two proteins on red blood cells responsible for these lesser-known blood types.īallif identified the two molecules as specialized transport proteins named ABCB6 and ABCG2. "More than 50,000 Japanese are thought to be Junior negative and may encounter blood transfusion problems or mother-fetus incompatibility," he writes.īut the molecular basis of these two blood types has remained a mystery - until now. While blood transfusion problems due to Langereis and Junior blood types are rare worldwide, several ethnic populations are at risk, Ballif notes. Yet this knowledge could be "a matter of life and death," says University of Vermont biologist Bryan Ballif. ![]()
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