When there is less oxyhemoglobin in the blood red cells produce 23-DPG This metabolic product?
When there is less oxyhemoglobin in the blood, red blood cells produce 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (BPG) as a metabolic product. BPG is an organic phosphate compound that plays a crucial role in regulating oxygen affinity of hemoglobin. Here's how it works:
1. Bohr Effect: When the oxygen concentration in tissues decreases, leading to a reduction in oxyhemoglobin levels, red blood cells respond by increasing their production of BPG. BPG binds to hemoglobin within the red blood cells.
2. Allosteric Regulation: BPG acts as an allosteric effector of hemoglobin. It binds to specific sites on the hemoglobin molecule, causing a conformational change in its structure. This change reduces the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen.
3. Shift in Oxygen Dissociation Curve: The binding of BPG to hemoglobin shifts the oxygen dissociation curve to the right. This means that at a given partial pressure of oxygen, hemoglobin releases more oxygen when BPG is present.
4. Facilitating Oxygen Delivery: By decreasing the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen, BPG promotes the release of oxygen from red blood cells into tissues where the oxygen concentration is lower. This helps ensure adequate oxygen delivery to tissues, especially in conditions such as hypoxia (low oxygen levels).
In summary, when there is less oxyhemoglobin in the blood, red blood cells produce BPG as a metabolic product to regulate oxygen affinity of hemoglobin and facilitate oxygen delivery to tissues.