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加拿大研究人员日前在小小的雪蚤体内发现了一种新型的防冻蛋白质，这一发现有望为人类器官移植做出贡献。在器官被移植之前，这种防冻蛋白可延长其保存时间。
据合众社10月21日报道，加拿大皇后大学的劳里·格雷厄姆博士和彼得·戴维斯博士经过研究后发现，雪蚤体内的这种用来保护自身不被冻伤的蛋白质，能够通过使液体凝固点降低大约6摄氏度的方法抑制冰的形成。而这将允许移植器官被保存在一种温度更低的条件下，从而延长移植器官的保存时间。
对此，格雷厄姆博士表示：“现在，移植器官必须被保存在凝固温度或稍暖一点的温度中。如果我们能降低器官安全存储的温度，那么这将带来一个更长的保存期。”研究人员同时表示，这项研究成果还可以让动物和植物免受严寒的困扰。
New antifreeze protein discovered in tiny snow fleas by Canadian researchers may allow organs to be stored longer before being transplanted.
Drs. Laurie Graham and Peter Davies -- at Queen's University, in Kingston, Ontario -- found that the potent protein produced by the fleas to protect themselves against freezing is capable of inhibiting ice growth by about 6 degrees Celsius.
This would allow organs to be stored at lower temperatures, expanding the time allowed between removal and transplant, the researchers say in the journal Science.
"Transplant organs must now be kept at the freezing point or slightly warmer," says Graham. "If we can drop the temperature at which the organ is safely stored, there will be a longer preservation period."
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