Document V3aNaYGXyNJq5pr7rx9oBZz7q

Ba l t imor e Cit y Ho spit a l s Fr ed er ic G. Hu bba r d d ir ec t o r 440 EASTERN AVENUE BALTIMORE* MARYLAND21224 Oct ob er 27, 1971 IN REPLY REFER TO: Dr. Rober t A. Kehoe Depar t m ent of Envi r onm ent al Heal t h Ket t er i ng Laborat ory, , Co l l e ge o f Me d i c i n e Un i ve r si t y o f Ci n ci n n at i Eden and Set hesda Ave n ue s Ci n ci n n at i , Oh i o 4521 9 Dear Dr. Kehoe: Ma n y t hanks f or your let t er o f Oct ob e r 18. I must say t hat i f eel t hat my pedi at r i c col l e agu es in Ci n ci n n at i sur el y do not know w hat t hey miss by f ai l i n g t o w al k acr oss t he st reet . This i s su r e l y a pr obl em t hat spans acr oss t he ent i r e f i el d o f m edi ci ne. We are al l , t o a cer t ai n ext ent , hesi t ant t o m ove out o f our l i t t l e ni che. 1 have been r ef l ect i ng on t he f ut ure cour se o f my ow n w or k d ur i ng t he past f ew mont hs and have j ust about r eached t he concl usi on t hat I shoul d concent r at e a bit more in t he ar ea o f por phyr i n m et abol i sm . In vi t r o st udies st r ongl y suggest t hat f ormed por phyr ins, such as copr opor phyr i n and pr ot opor phyr in, ar e b i o l o gi c a l l y ac t i ve compounds w i t h t ox i c m et abol i c pot ent i al i t i es. Furt hermore, t hey ar e phot odynam i c subst ances. I qui t e agr ee w i t h y ou t hat i nsof ar as heme synt hesi s in t he bl ood is concer ned, r educt i on i n hemo gl ob i n is t he si gn i f i can t f eat ure. How ever , I t hi nk w e must keep in mind t hat t here are ot her heme enzym es i n t he var i ous t issues and t hat , i nsof ar as we know , each cel l synt hesi zes it s own heme f or t he f or mat ion o f i t s ow n hemoprot eins. In h i b i t i on i n heme f ormat ion or al t er at i on i n f unct i on w i t hi n ot her t ypes of ce l l s ce r t ai n l y seem t o me impor t ant ar eas f or i nve st i gat i on , si nce al t er at i on i n heme synt hesis i n ot her t issues may be j ust as import ant t o t hem as hem ogl obi n is t o t he f unct i on o f bl ood. Agai n , m any t hanks f or your recent let t er. You r s si ncer el y, JJC: ov