THEME 4: MARINE BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES – BIOTECHNOLOGY

The HEMORGAN project aims to use an oxygen carrier extracted from the extracellular haemoglobin of the Arenicola marina to ensure optimum conservation of organs prior to transplant.

Arenicola marina is the worm which leaves small casts on sandy seashores. Familiar to sea anglers, the lugworm, as it is more commonly known, has for several years been the subject of scientific research into the particular qualities of its haemoglobin. Unlike vertebrates, the lugworm possesses extracellular haemoglobin molecules (HbAm) which are not contained within red blood cells making them compatible with all blood groups and efficient oxygen carriers. These properties are of particular interest in the area of organ transplants. The urgency surrounding such operations, the lack of donors and the problems of compatibility are often compounded by the difficulties of protecting the donor organ from cell necrosis resulting from any interruption in blood supply.

Led by the Hémarina Company, the HEMORGAN project aims to use worms produced on an industrial scale to develop an oxygen carrier for approval as an auxiliary treatment product in preserving donor organs. The R&D work will be carried out in partnership with an INSERM team from Poitiers University Hospital, specialising in the study of ischaemia/reperfusion phenomena in organ transplants, and a CNRS team from Roscoff Biological Research Station, specialising in the study of the relationships between structure and function in the respiratory pigments of marine invertebrates. The latter will work on developing production of HbAm through genetic engineering.

© Hermarina

HEMORGAN PROJECT PARTNERS

• HEMARINA SA – CCI Morlaix - M. Rousselot

• CNRS UMR 7144 – Station Biologique de Roscoff – F. Zal

• INSERM U324 – CHU Poitiers – T. Hauet

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