Plasma heme pool compartmentalization is linked to pathophysiology in sickle cell disease
Data files
Mar 18, 2026 version files 76.41 KB
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HemeCompartments_data.xlsx
64.93 KB
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README.md
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Abstract
Heme toxicity plays a central role in the pathophysiology of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), contributing to severe complications such as vaso-occlusion and acute chest syndrome. The continuous release of hemoglobin and heme from increased intravascular hemolysis can exceed the capacity of protective scavenger proteins, leading to heme accumulation in plasma. Interactions with various binding partners result in the formation of different plasma heme species and the compartmentalization of the plasma heme pool. In an observational biomarker study, we used novel bioanalytical assays to quantify plasma heme species in 36 stable-state SCD patients and 36 age, sex, and ethnicity-matched controls. Our results revealed substantially different compartmentalization of plasma heme, despite similar levels of total plasma heme in SCD patients (50 µmol/L) and controls (43 µmol/L). Using a correlation analysis across 85 biomarkers, we examined the association of specific heme species with SCD pathophysiology. Hemopexin-accessible heme (HAH) emerged as a refined indicator of heme burden linked to pathways driving severe SCD complications. A strong inverse correlation was observed between HAH and hemopexin (R = –0.73, p < 0.001), suggesting that hemopexin deficiency contributes to elevated HAH levels. Accurate characterization of clinically relevant plasma heme species and understanding their effects on SCD pathophysiology is essential for the development of new targeted therapies. The data set contains individual measurement of total plamsa heme, the heme species and the 85 biomarkers investigated in this study (see description below). Full analyte names, the matrix, and units for all analytes are shown in the corresponding "Variables" table.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.6q573n6cp
Description of the data and file structure
The dataset contains headers; missing data is represented as NA. The first two columns of the data set contain identifiers for individuals ("Individuals": consecutive numbers) and group identifiers ("Group": HC = healthy control; SCD = Sickle Cell Disease patient). All other columns contain biomarker measurements per individual (rows). The column headers indicate analytes that correspond to the "Analytes" column in the table below ("Variables"). For every analyte, this table contains the analyte's full name, matrix from which it was measured (Plasma/Serum/Blood/Urine), and units of quantification.
Files and variables
File: HemeCompartments_data.xlsx
Description:
Variables
| Analyte | Analyte full name | Matrix | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total heme | Total plasma heme | Plasma | umol/L |
| CFH | Cell-free hemoglobin | Plasma | umol/L |
| Hpx-accessible Heme | Hemopexin-accessible Heme | Plasma | umol/L |
| Haptoglobin (MS) | Haptoglobin by mass spectometry | Plasma | mg/mL |
| Hp-Hb | Haptoglobin-hemoglobin complex | Plasma | umol/L |
| Hemopexin | Hemopexin | Plasma | mg/mL |
| Hpx-heme | Hemopexin-heme complex | Plasma | umol/L |
| Iron | Iron | Plasma | µmol/L |
| Transferrin | Transferrin | Plasma | g/L |
| Haptoglobin (clin.) | Haptoglobin by clinical chemistry | Serum | g/L |
| Ferritin | Ferritin | Serum | µg/L |
| Bilirubin direct | Bilirubin direct | Plasma | µmol/L |
| Bilirubin total | Bilirubin total | Plasma | µmol/L |
| ASAT | ASAT (aspartate aminotransferase) | Plasma | U/L |
| ALAT | ALAT (alanine aminotransferase) | Plasma | U/L |
| Creatinine | Creatinine | Plasma | µmol/L |
| LDH | LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) | Plasma | U/L |
| D-Dimer | D-Dimer | Plasma | µg/L |
| TAT | TAT (thrombin–antithrombin complex) | Plasma | µg/L |
| INR venous | INR venous (international normalized ratio) | Plasma | [ratio] |
| Quick venous | Quick venous | Plasma | % |
| PT venous | PT venous (prothrombin time) | Plasma | sec |
| aPTT | aPTT (activated partial thromboplastin time) | Plasma | sec |
| Thrombin time | Thrombin time | Plasma | sec |
| Fibrinogen Clauss man. | Fibrinogen Clauss manual | Plasma | g/L |
| Hematocrit | Hematocrit | Blood | L/L |
| Hemoglobin | Hemoglobin | Blood | g/L |
| Leukocytes | Leukocytes | Blood | G/L |
| Thrombocytes | Thrombocytes | Blood | G/L |
| Erythrocytes | Erythrocytes | Blood | T/L |
| MCV | MCV (mean corpuscular volume) | Blood | fL |
| MCH | MCH (mean corpuscular hemoglobin) | Blood | pg |
| MCHC | MCHC (mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration) | Blood | g/L |
| RDW | RDW (red cell distribution width) | Blood | % |
| MPV | MPV (mean platelet volume) | Blood | fL |
| IPF | IPF (immature platelet fraction) | Blood | % |
| Normoblasts | Normoblasts | Blood | /100 Leuc. |
| Neutrophils | Neutrophils | Blood | G/L |
| Eosinophiles | Eosinophiles | Blood | G/L |
| Monocytes | Monocytes | Blood | G/L |
| Lymphocytes | Lymphocytes | Blood | G/L |
| Immature Granulocytes | Immature Granulocytes | Blood | G/L |
| Reticulocytes | Reticulocytes | Blood | % |
| Albumin in urine | Albumin in urine | Urine | mg/L |
| Protein in urine | Protein in urine | Urine | g/L |
| Creatinine in urine | Creatinine in urine | Urine | µmol/L |
| Ang2 | Angiopoietin-2 | Plasma | pg/mL |
| MCP-1 | Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 | Plasma | pg/mL |
| CD40L | Soluble CD40 ligand | Plasma | pg/mL |
| EMMPRIN | Extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer | Plasma | pg/mL |
| GDF-15 | Growth Differentiation Factor 15 | Plasma | pg/mL |
| ICAM-1 | Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 | Plasma | pg/mL |
| CD62E | Soluble E-Selectin | Plasma | pg/mL |
| PlGF | Placental Growth Factor | Plasma | pg/mL |
| TNF RI | Tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 | Plasma | pg/mL |
| VCAM-1 | Vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 | Plasma | pg/mL |
| BAFF | B-cell activating factor | Plasma | pg/mL |
| CCL20 | Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-3 alpha | Plasma | pg/mL |
| TF_III | Coagulation Factor III/Tissue Factor | Plasma | pg/mL |
| Endoglin | Endoglin | Plasma | pg/mL |
| HGF | Hepatocyte Growth Factor | Plasma | pg/mL |
| IL-1a | Interleukin-1 alpha | Plasma | pg/mL |
| RAGE | Soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products | Plasma | pg/mL |
| CD62P | Soluble P-Selectin | Plasma | pg/mL |
| uPAR | Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor | Plasma | pg/mL |
| vWF-A2 | Von Willebrand factor (A2 domain) | Plasma | pg/mL |
| CD62L | Soluble L-Selectin | Plasma | pg/mL |
| GM-CSF | Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor | Plasma | pg/mL |
| IL-1b | Interleukin-1 beta | Plasma | pg/mL |
| IL-2 | Interleukin-2 | Plasma | pg/mL |
| IL-6 | Interleukin-6 | Plasma | pg/mL |
| IL-8 | Interleukin-8 | Plasma | pg/mL |
| IL-10 | Interleukin-10 | Plasma | pg/mL |
| TNFa | Tumor necrosis factor alpha | Plasma | pg/mL |
| VEGF | Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor | Plasma | pg/mL |
| HMGB1 | High-Mobility-Group Box 1 | Plasma | ng/mL |
| MD-2 | Myeloid differentiation factor-2 | Plasma | ng/mL |
| Calbindin | Calbindin | Urine | ng/mL |
| KIM-1 | Kidney Injury Molecule-1 | Urine | ng/mL |
| TIMP-1 | Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 | Urine | ng/mL |
| TFF-3 | Trefoil Factor 3 | Urine | ng/mL |
| GSTa | Glutathione S-transferase alpha | Urine | ng/mL |
| FABP-1 | Fatty Acid Binding Protein 1 | Urine | ng/mL |
| Collagen IV | Urinary type IV collagen | Urine | ng/mL |
| NGAL | Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin | Urine | ng/mL |
| EGF | Urinary Epidermal Growth Factor | Urine | ng/mL |
| Clusterin | Urinary Clusterin | Urine | ng/mL |
| OPN | Osteopontin | Urine | ng/mL |
| Cystatin C | Urinary cystatin C | Urine | ng/mL |
| A1M | Urinary alpha-1 microglobulin | Urine | ng/mL |
| NAG | N-Acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase | Urine | U/L |
| MCP1-urine | Urinary monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 | Urine | pg/mL |
Human subjects data
Consent to publish de-identified data was received from all participants. The data set contains biomarker concentrations without any demographic or clinical information.
