Hemoglobin the iron gets recycled. This process also produces one molecule of carbon monoxide for every molecule of heme degraded. Heme degradation is one of the few natural sources of carbon monoxide in the human body, and is responsible for the normal blood levels of carbon monoxide even in people breathing pure air. The other major final product of heme degradation is bilirubin. Increased levels of this chemical are detected in the blood if red blood cells are being destroyed more rapidly than usual. Improperly degraded hemoglobin protein or hemoglobin that has been released from the blood cells too rapidly can
Hemoglobin Barts Hemoglobin Barts Hemoglobin Barts, abbreviated Hb Barts, is an abnormal type of hemoglobin that consists of four gamma globins. It is moderately insoluble, and therefore accumulates in the red blood cells. It has an extremely high affinity for oxygen, resulting in almost no oxygen delivery to the tissues. As an embryo develops, it begins to produce alpha-globins at weeks 5-6 of development. When both HBA1 and HBA2, the two genes that code for alpha globins, are non-functional, only gamma globins are produced. These gamma globins bind to form hemoglobin Barts. It is produced in the disease alpha-thalassemia and in the