ABO blood groups, antibodies and antigens explained

ABO Blood Types They were discovered in 1900 and 1901 at the University of Vienna by Karl Landsteiner in the process of trying to learn why blood transfusions sometimes cause death and at other times save a patient. In 1930, he belatedly received the Nobel Prize for his discovery of blood types. All humans and many other primates can be typed for the ABO blood group. There are four principal types: A, B, AB, and O. There are two antigens and two antibodies that are mostly responsible for the ABO types. The specific combination of these four components determines an individual’s type in most cases. The table below shows the possible permutations of antigens and antibodies with the corresponding ABO type (“yes“ indicates the presence of a component and “no“ indicates its absence in the blood of an individual). For example, people with type A blood will have the A antigen on the surface of their red cells (as shown in the table below). As a result, anti-A antibodies will not be produced by them because they would cause the destruction of their own blood. However, if B type blood is injected into their systems, anti-B antibodies in their plasma will recognize it as alien and burst or agglutinate the introduced red cells in order to cleanse the blood of alien protein. Individuals with type O blood do not produce ABO antigens. Therefore, their blood normally will not be rejected when it is given to others with different ABO types. As a result, type O people are universal donors for transfusions, but they can receive only type O blood themselves. Those who have type AB blood do not make any ABO antibodies. Their blood does not discriminate against any other ABO type. Consequently, they are universal receivers for transfusions, but their blood will be agglutinated when given to people with every other type because they produce both kinds of antigens. It is easy and inexpensive to determine an individual’s ABO type from a few drops of blood. A serum containing anti-A antibodies is mixed with some of the blood. Another serum with anti-B antibodies is mixed with the remaining sample. Whether or not agglutination occurs in either sample indicates the ABO type. It is a simple process of elimination of the possibilities. For instance, if an individual’s blood sample is agglutinated by the anti-A antibody, but not the anti-B antibody, it means that the A antigen is present but not the B antigen. Therefore, the blood type is A. Research carried out in Heidelberg, Germany by Ludwik Hirszfeld and Emil von Dungern in 1910 and 1911 showed that the ABO blood types are inherited. We now know that they are determined by genes on chromosome 9, and they do not change as a result of environmental influences during life. An individual’s ABO type results from the inheritance of 1 of 3 alleles (A, B, or O) from each parent. The possible outcomes are shown below: Both A and B alleles are dominant over O. As a result, individuals who have an AO genotype will have an A phenotype. People who are type O have OO genotypes. In other words, they inherited a recessive O allele from both parents. The A and B alleles are codominant. Therefore, if an A is inherited from one parent and a B from the other, the phenotype will be AB. Agglutination tests will show that these individuals have the characteristics of both type A and type B blood. #Genetics101 #ABOBloodTypes #Cancer #chromosome #ABOTypes #GeneticExamQuestionsSolutions #bloodTransfusions #GeneticsExamQuestionsSolutions #blood #genes #DNA #GeneticTesting #GeneticsLecture #alleles #geneticCode #serum #redCells #gene #antigens #phenotype #genotype #Genetics #geneExpression #AAntigen #Iherb #antibodies #KarlLandsteiner #MolecularBiology #NikolaysGeneticsLessons #group #study #studying #video #abo #clotting #coagulation #henrik #henriks #lab #test #operation