TY - JOUR

T1 - A previously unknown way of heme detoxification in the digestive tract of cats

AU - Duzhak, Alexandr B.

AU - Sherin, Petr S.

AU - Yanshole, Vadim V.

AU - Veber, Sergey L.

AU - Baiborodin, Sergey I.

AU - Sinitsyna, Olga I.

AU - Tsentalovich, Yuri P.

N1 - Funding Information: This article is dedicated to Dr. Tatyana G. Duzhak, whose original idea started this project. This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Project 20-03-00234. Authors thank Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation for the access to MS equipment. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/4/15

Y1 - 2021/4/15

N2 - Free heme is a highly toxic molecule for a living organism and its detoxification is a very important process, especially for carnivorous animals. Here we report the discovery of a previously unknown process for neutralizing free heme in the digestive tract of domestic cats. The cornerstone of this process is the encapsulation of heme into carbonated hydroxyapatite nanoparticles, followed by their excretion with faeces. This way of heme neutralization resembles the formation of insoluble heme-containing particles in the digestive tracts of other hematophagous species (for example, the formation of insoluble hemozoin crystals in malaria-causing Plasmodium parasites). Our findings suggest that the encapsulation of heme molecules into a hydroxyapatite matrix occurs during the transition from the acidic gastric juice to the small intestine with neutral conditions. The formation of these particles and their efficiency to include heme depends on the bone content in a cat’s diet. In vitro experiments with heme-hydroxyapatite nanoparticles confirm the proposed scenario.

AB - Free heme is a highly toxic molecule for a living organism and its detoxification is a very important process, especially for carnivorous animals. Here we report the discovery of a previously unknown process for neutralizing free heme in the digestive tract of domestic cats. The cornerstone of this process is the encapsulation of heme into carbonated hydroxyapatite nanoparticles, followed by their excretion with faeces. This way of heme neutralization resembles the formation of insoluble heme-containing particles in the digestive tracts of other hematophagous species (for example, the formation of insoluble hemozoin crystals in malaria-causing Plasmodium parasites). Our findings suggest that the encapsulation of heme molecules into a hydroxyapatite matrix occurs during the transition from the acidic gastric juice to the small intestine with neutral conditions. The formation of these particles and their efficiency to include heme depends on the bone content in a cat’s diet. In vitro experiments with heme-hydroxyapatite nanoparticles confirm the proposed scenario.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85104279775&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41598-021-87421-6

DO - 10.1038/s41598-021-87421-6

M3 - Article

C2 - 33859236

AN - SCOPUS:85104279775

VL - 11

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

SN - 2045-2322

IS - 1

M1 - 8290

ER -