Identification of scavenger receptor BI as a scavenger of free heme that is essential for protection against hemolysis
Misa Ito, Jianyao Xue, Ling Guo, Dan Hao, Qian Wang, Alexander H. Williams, Chang-Guo Zhan, Ailing Ji, Preetha Shridas, Wen Su, Shu Liu, Zhenheng Guo, Mingcui Gong, Scott M. Gordon, Bin Huang, Jianhang Jia, Chieko Mineo, Philip W. Shaul, Xiang-an Li · 2026
Read Identification of scavenger receptor BI as a scavenger of free heme that is essential for protection against hemolysis by Misa Ito, Jianyao Xue, Ling Guo, Dan Hao, Qian Wang, Alexander H. Williams, Chang-Guo Zhan, Ailing Ji, Preetha Shridas, Wen Su, Shu Liu, Zhenheng Guo, Mingcui Gong, Scott M. Gordon, Bin Huang, Jianhang Jia, Chieko Mineo, Philip W. Shaul, Xiang-an Li (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13518855.txt.
Description
Misa Ito and colleagues uncover in 2026 a backup system for clearing toxic free heme, the iron-bearing fragment released when red blood cells burst. Severe hemolysis overwhelms the usual scavenger proteins, letting heme poison organs. Their work names scavenger receptor BI, a liver protein better known for handling cholesterol particles, as the missing route.
Mice lacking the receptor in the liver cleared heme poorly and died more easily under heme stress. Raising receptor levels with the drug imatinib or gene delivery protected animals. In a humanized sickle cell model, diseased livers carried less of the receptor, and restoring it rescued the mice. The pathway offers a fresh treatment target for hemolytic disorders.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Misa Ito, Jianyao Xue, Ling Guo, Dan Hao, Qian Wang, Alexander H. Williams, Chang-Guo Zhan, Ailing Ji, Preetha Shridas, Wen Su, Shu Liu, Zhenheng Guo, Mingcui Gong, Scott M. Gordon, Bin Huang, Jianhang Jia, Chieko Mineo, Philip W. Shaul, Xiang-an Li |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 60 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |