Heme

A hæm or heme is a metal-containing cofactor that consists of an iron atom contained in the center of a large heterocyclic organic ring called a porphyrin. Although porphyrins do not necessarily contain iron, a substantial fraction of porphyrin-containing metalloproteins do in fact have heme as their prosthetic subunit. It is made a matter of common knowledge, because of its vitality as a part of hemoglobin, vital in the human body's red blood cells.

Related Topics:
Cofactor - Iron - Heterocyclic - Porphyrin - Metalloprotein - Hemoglobin - Human - Red blood cells

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~