Oxygen equilibrium properties of blood and hemoglobin of fetal and adult Weddell seals

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Abstract
O2 equilibria of whole blood and Hb from adult and fetal Weddell seals are reported. The maternal blood shows a lower O2 affinity than the fetal blood (half saturation O2 tension P50 = 26.9 .+-. 1.18 and 21.4 .+-. 1.25 Torr, respectively, at 37.degree. C and pH 7.4) and a greater Bohr effect (.DELTA. log P50/.DELTA. pH = -0.49 and -0.31, respectively, at pH 7.4-6.8), correlated with higher red cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) concentrations (6.45 .+-. 0.81 mmol/l, compared to 2.65 .+-. 0.42 mmol/l in the fetus). The maternal and fetal erythrocytes contain 2 major and 2 minor Hb components occurring in the same ratio; the 2,3-DPG-free whole hemolysates and the isolated major components from each stage show the same oxygenation properties, ascribing the whole-blood differences to the higher adult DPG levels. A 2,3-DPG effect appears to account for disparity in the Bohr effects, which will favor unloading of O2 from the maternal circulation during diving as maternal and fetal blood pH decrease in parallel.

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