Heme and Globin Conformations in Fractionated Rat Erythrocytes by Raman Spectroscopy

Abstract Conformational changes of heme and globin in fractionated rat erythrocytes were studied by Raman spectroscopy. Normal isoforms (common variants) of hemoglobin, which plays a key role in oxygen transport and a protective role in oxidative stress, were shown to predominate (more than 80%) in the rat blood. However, heavy-chain (3%) and light-chain (11%) isoforms, which result from protein polymerization or degradation, perform important roles in the body because by functioning in signal transmission and binding exogenous ligands.